With Jamaica’s large Christianity base, most of our expectations of women are formulated from the role women played in the BC Era. Men see us as a form of currency and the bearers of their legacy. This has created the framework of ‘the box’ women are placed in today. Why is it men think they are so bumboclaat better than us?
Gender equality is supposed to provide men and women with the same access. But I still see places for rent, and even jobs in Jamaica, asking for the person applying to be male.
Why are we assumed to be so weak? Women take up space in esteemed positions in the working world. So why are we still perceived to be so bumboclaat helpless? It was also reported by ‘Trading Economics’ that in 2015 females took up space in tertiary institutions by 62.6%. Hence the term beauty and brains.
As women, we are expected to dress in typically feminine ways, to be accommodating and polite. Still, men can behave in any bumboclaat mannerism they want, as long as it’s not effeminate. Because to be feminine means comparing to women, and that, of course, would be insulting. These expectations placed on women against their will can cause women to struggle to accept themselves, which can lead to depression and sometimes self-harm.
This unspoken guideline to how women should behave is somewhat a role assigned to us inside the womb—an unavoidable characteristic. Women’s Oxytocin levels give them this nurturing/feminine role. It would be unreasonable to ask someone genetically incapable of providing that same softness (men) to switch positions. So assuming women’s responsibility in society is not precisely intolerance.
But how can we unlearn years of culture? Jamaicans will never be willing to ignore their traditional Christian upbringing. Tradition might be rooted. But people can learn tolerance. The tolerance that every personality is different. Understanding that not all bodies look the same. And it is also up to us women to stop rewarding men for small acts of gender equality when women have done years of work.
