Saturday, March 17, 2018

The question of gender equality in modern market society

If the traditional family is abhorred like it is in the depicted picture, then perhaps modern free market would be considered as a better place for women to grow or thrive ... What needs to be acknowledged that often women in the modern market society also complain about their unequal treatment (not to mention colossal amount of sexual harassment cases [1] which doesn't seems to reduce with more freedom) like why their wages are not as same as men? Its seems this complain never questions the foundation of free market society which legitimize free competition in a social Darwinian context means the FITTEST WILL SURVIVE/THRIVE [2] ... free unregulated competition eventually create conditions for inequality, which hurt both men and women equally.

I wonder, why we don't have sports where a team of men competes with a team of women? [2a] The answer is obvious! Why not the same logic applies in the free market? Men can be ruthless, while women are considered more compassionate [3]; men don't get pregnant, while women do if they decide to become mothers subsequently affecting their productivity for many months in the market! ... If that's the case, who would get ahead in an atmosphere of cut-throat competition, and feel deprived when/where one's self-esteem is believed to be a function of one's level of employment and pay [4] ... This hurts the men and women equally, while some make it a case of gender inequality!

So as a women if you don't question the logic which runs through the free market system, and rather complain on its effects, then in order to compete and win the race you are tempted to also suppress your womanhood. For example, in some countries corporations even pay women to freeze their eggs to avoid becoming mothers! [5] The logic of the system, when left unquestioned, perhaps encourage every women to either suppress or outsource her motherhood ... For example:
1. Mothers can now outsource their pregnancies to surrogate mothers in third world countries, there are companies which offer this service! [6]
2. Breast feeding can be replaced with formula feed milk available for babies in the market, nannies can be hired for this purpose ...
3. Child care can be outsourced to day care centers and maids, or to an AI based robot nanny [6a] in coming future ...
4. When children grow up, we have other industries to keep them busy, entertained and avoid bothering their parents ... [6b]
5. Husbands or males can use sex dolls which looks/feel exactly like actual women, except they don't move as yet [7]... R&D is being done to make the dolls talk and move like real women [8]. An entire industry of robotic prostitutes is under development to keep men away from real women (their wifes) [9] who may be busy with her professional commitments.

Outsourcing motherhood, therefore, may not just increases women's productivity in the market but can also create lots of profit making opportunities for others. However, such outsourcing, may cause some negative side effects, which may further create profit making opportunities (ironically)! For example, such outsourcing may raise boys as sociopaths [10] who may physically/sexually abuse women more often [10a], while subsequently increasing opportunities for industry producing products or services to protect women! Or psychotherapy industry to fix the grown up sociopath [10b], or pharma industry producing medicines to numb the minds [10c] and libidos of such sociopaths so they may not end up raping women ... The irony is perhaps unmistakable ... Such outsourcing may add to the cost of the family, which may be born equally by both partners. However, in case of a single unmarried mothers their disposable income may be reduced, in comparison to men [10d], contributing to gender inequality [Must see 10e]. As of now, luxuries like surrogacy, let alone basic child care, are too expensive for a ordinary women or family to afford, which may not allow its widespread usage. The effects of cost associated with having and raising a child on gender equality, therefore, has even sparked a debate of subsidizing it or lowering it some how [10f] ...

When free market society create room for market based solutions for child birth and upbringing in the name of women empowerment then what's really the need of a family then? Making the family system obsolete may be justified under the logic of social-Darwinism, which doesn't just apply on human beings but also on social and economic institutions like family! One may ask: Is the family fit to survive in free market? [11] Is the relationship of mother, father, son, daughter, husband, wife, perhaps needed to produce workers for the market system or for any other purpose? [12]

The answer would be perhaps increasingly NO! in context of the underline free market logic stated above and also in context of envisioned technological development driven by a trans-human ideology! Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent right now on technology to stop aging and beat death! [13] Furthermore, technology to automate almost every job on the planet is being development at a speed unprecedented in human history! [14] Futurists believes that we will soon be entering a post-death [15] and post-work era! Such a vision sketches a world where it will become increasingly illogical to have children because, the existing humans perhaps will not die rather remain young and there will not be any work for them to do, other then recreation [16]... The point is not that such a future is possible, but such visions, may not have a rationale to persist on the sanctity of the family institution, which may survive if some traditional minded people or those who can't afford the alternatives would want to have it anyway ...

In short, is it the logic of the free market and its vision for humanity (survival of the fittest, profession as a source of identity/respect and privilege, professional role as a primary role, wealth maximization as the primary goal of life) which needs to be challenged or the traditional role of the motherhood and family which stands in competition with the requirements of the free market system ... So lets be clear, what do we need to stand against ... If the preserving motherhood is a better option, then feminist may need to question the very logic of free market system, and envision an alternative society built around the requirement of a mother and her family where she can develop the next generation. This alternative society would perhaps stands in contrast with the free market society where every institution is expected to facilitate institution of the market. The choice has to be made between the mutually exclusive roles (a) of a mother as an architect of the future or (b) of a factor of production in the free market system ... or otherwise we let the free market decide the future of humanity ...

P.S: The picture illustrates the desperate cry of so called enlightened women to get out of homes and go where? the modern free market?

References:
[1] https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/870391/EU-sexual-harassment-Brussels-Harvey-Weinstein; https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/25/health/sexual-harassment-violence-abuse-global-levels/index.html
[2] The new spirit of capitalism, book by Luc Boltanski
[2a] https://www.theperspective.com/debates/living/women-compete-men-sports/
[3] http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/01/14/women-and-leadership/st_2015-01-14_women-leadership-2-03/
[4] https://hbr.org/2016/12/how-unemployment-affects-twentysomethings-self-worth
[5] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/15/apple-facebook-offer-freeze-eggs-female-employees
[6] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/exq7nz/how-commercial-surrogacy-became-a-massive-international-business
[6a] http://theinstitute.ieee.org/ieee-roundup/blogs/blog/robot-nannies-should-gadgets-raise-your-kids
[6b] http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/the-littlest-consumers-big-value-in-the-entertainment-industry.html
[7] https://www.siliconwives.com/blogs/news/2017-sex-doll-buyers-guide
[8] http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/sex/sex-robots-could-soon-be-in-brothels-sooner-than-we-think/news-story/4f0754973e2b021508539653fbd576ad
[9] http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/09/28/sex-dolls-are-replacing-chinas-missing-women-demographics/
[10] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight-is-2020/201402/the-sociopathic-child-myths-parenting-tips-what-do
[10a] http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/are-you-living-with-a-sociopath/news-story/a7821dd2391979099a644152f0bca063
[10b] https://www.amazon.com/Diagnosis-Treatment-Sociopaths-Sociopathic-Practices/dp/1572240474
[10c] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0015247/
[10d] https://qz.com/713013/the-biggest-cost-of-raising-children-is-earnings-lost-when-parents-dont-work/; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019074091300220X
[10e] https://www.vox.com/2018/2/19/17018380/gender-wage-gap-childcare-penalty
[10f] https://ravishly.com/2016/12/28/if-childcare-key-gender-equality-and-parental-happiness-can-we-get-it-now
[11] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-05/divorces-rise-in-emerging-economies-helps-women-get-ahead
[12] https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230522831_4; http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/decline-of-the-family-due-to-individualism-1557249.html
[13] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5142784/
[14] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1zVAfE0YdA
[15] https://qz.com/1123164/seeking-eternal-life-silicon-valley-is-solving-for-death/; https://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/03/tech/innovation/google-calico-aging-death/index.html
[16] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/24/robots-future-work-humans-jobs-leisure

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