Today I stumbled upon yet another video of a cringeworthy response during a beauty pageant interview. Trust me, I'm not looking for these things. I have better things to do with my time. After all, it would be easy to bully a beauty queen for sounding stupid, but how about we just spend more time in our educational system tackling the tough questions and encouraging thorough thought process and problem solving instead?
I felt inspired. I decided maybe that I should seek out the tough questions that are being asked of these polished individuals, and that I should try to answer the questions out loud to myself, under the same scrutiny as used while we have watched the babes burn.
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Our World, Ourselves
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Looking back, the first famous fail I can recall watching and re-watching was Miss South Carolina Teen USA Caitlin Upton in 2007, regarding her comments regarding how so many people cannot locate America on a map. My first reaction was reasonably harsh (mocking her apparent lack of intelligence), followed by a more compassionate reaction (wondering how a person could be asked to explain the un-explainable during a beauty competition). Out loud, I was quickly able to articulate my surprise, naive or ignorant as it may have been, acknowledging that with the education I have been fortunate enough to receive, I find it remarkable that there are places in this country where people have not spent enough time or effort in the education system (or at home) identifying our place in the world or the importance of retaining that knowledge. Additionally this reflects on our lack of ability to empathize with our neighbors on the planet if we can not identify where they are coming from or furthermore recognize our cultural similarities or differences. Geology, climatology, history, anthropology, and the study of resulting politics are crucial to our building a better world, and it starts when we are young, impressionable, and not yet closed-minded by adult experience, conflict, and judgment.
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Women, Psychology, and Equal Opportunity
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Flipping to a new topic, this blog which I generated today was initiated in response to a more recent offense (2013) during which Miss Utah USA Marissa Powell stumbled when asked, "A recent report shows that in 40 percent of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?"
One thing to consider is the question itself: what kind of households are home to women who are primary breadwinners? If the 40% of American families with children include homes where fathers are not present or unable to provide as much income to the family as the mother, what role does the woman play in the workforce, and does it directly compare to a man in the same position, productivity, quality, and experience level? If the answer to the latter part is yes, as the original question about society assumes, then the question is valid and demands attention.
Personally, I stuttered too (maybe not as badly as Miss U), and took longer to respond than the aforementioned Miss SC's question. But after a few minutes, I was able to identify to myself that gender inequality in the workforce happens for two reasons: first, it happens because historically this lead actor / supporting actress situation has been the accepted standard throughout history and across most industries (challenging to amend on a broad scale); secondly, it happens because of our current inaction on the issue (succumbing to that challenge), which results from a multitude of factors. Some reasons for inaction that I explored today included helplessness, complacency, and opposition.
Our biggest enemy may be ourselves. I can attest from my own perspective that a portion of women may be far less confrontational than men. It may be explained by our hormones or maternal nature, or it could be our cultural or religious upbringing, or it may be a result of our lack of commitment to ourselves and subsequent choice to pursue a passive role, scheming or not for equality sometime in the ill-defined, abstract future. Sometimes this choice to be passive might be a result of an inability to properly handle the pressure of confrontation, due to stress response biologically, mentally, and spiritually. Being so in tune with these elements, if any are threatened by either internal or external factors, women possess a survival response to avoid or eliminate those factors, correcting the inner balance of the system. For many this means quiet submission to the old standard, despite a feeling of disappointment or even failure to pursue what might seem to be actionable steps to equality. Such women are left hungry for other ways to feel successful and accomplished, and may apply importance to things that others can not understand to the point of exhaustion until their inner balance of satisfaction and disillusionment is achieved. Instead, equipping women with the right tools and training to better handle societal stressors is a key to solving this scenario of helplessness. On the other hand, some other women may look at the status quo and simply choose to invest their time and energy in their husbands, children, faith, extended families, hobbies, and other paths of expression in life, and be content. Perhaps they feel they are following their calling in life, but alternatively they may one day resent feeling pigeonholed into their fate. Showing women the benefits of following their passions is key to solving the scenario of complacency.
While some women fall to inaction, still others will not bend so quietly: some will fight, some will win, and some will lose. This aspect of society (lesser compensation or growth opportunity for women than men in the workforce) encourages women to fight, to stand down, or to leave. This choice is also given in situations of collisions such as war, when the declarer of war wishes for power, believes its opponent to have done something wrong, or fears an undesirable outcome. Women's enemy may be men, or it may be the social standard itself. Regardless, the right to power should be equal given that all parties embody a willingness to yield to one another in conversation for the purpose of greater understanding and working to make the world a better place. The only wrongdoing is suppression of ideas, motivations, passions, and actions based solely on a person's gender, race, faith, or culture, rather than allowing open dialogue to cultivate better relationships. Unequal pay or professional growth for women means the world is missing out on women's contributions. Some men may be afraid of losing control of the workforce, rather than gaining the possibility of a richer workforce; or society may be afraid for the survival of the family unit or our children, rather than seeing the possibility of a wealthier, more empowered family unit with an emphasis on equality, self-worth, and limitless potential, which in turn is learned and passed to future generations. Focusing on women and men exploring together the positive opportunities for the advancement of humanity is a key to solving the scenario of opposition.
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To Be Continued
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As previously mentioned, I really do have more to do than to talk about beauty queen blunders, but they bring to light some tough questions that many of us would fail to answer intelligently. It is very easy to get consumed with your own life rather than to address the broader picture. Taking some time to answer the tough questions for ourselves might just be a way to solve the world's problems. This blog might merely be another place for me to babble, but perhaps as I've suggested it's just a way for me to feel I am contributing to something, even if it's only my own intellect. Better to expose it to a venue for possible discussion, rather than a private document where it can become frighteningly one-sided.
