Battle #..I forgot. Essay Competition- Submission Thread

Alrighty! Here we go. For those of you participating in the essay battle, please submit your work of art right here in this thread.

ONLY essay submissions are allowed. Conversation/discussion/etc is allowed in the Essay Competition Main Thread.

Submit your essays no later than 11:59 PM YOUR time zone on Friday, 26 September. I request that this thread be locked by a moderator at 11:59 on Friday, PST, please.

If your essay is not in, then it WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

>=[ (<---see angry face for further detail)


Thanks, and good luck! ^_^

Disclaimer: Since I could write my freaking thesis on the issues presented in my essay, I would ask the judges to please keep in mind that there was a silly length limit on the essays. Had I been able to write, say, fifteen or twenty pages, I would be better able to blow your MINDS.

Oh, also, I have no clue how to double space on the forum, so if anyone knows, it would be awesome for that person to pass along such knowledge. Unless it's not required, in which case ... never mind.

Sexism, or Why It’s Stupid that I’m Expected to be Able to Cook
An essay by Sapphira

In today’s society, people are all divided up into categories. These categories might be based on ethnicity, or perhaps based on religion or class. Assigning people to categories is more than just affixing a label to a group of people. With that label comes a list of stereotypes and assumptions based on very little evidence. Gender, as well as biological sex, are two such socially constructed categories, and when a person is classified by sex and gender, there are expectations for the individual, and people also make assumptions about h/er*. These expectations, assumptions, and stereotypes lead to a divide between the socially recognized sexes, which in turn leads to discrimination based on sex and gender. This discrimination is known as sexism. While “sexism” might bring to mind very extreme situations, such as when Lawrence Summers, former president of Harvard University, claimed that women innately struggled with math and science, sexism is quite prevalent in the everyday lives of normal people. Many people might take such sexism for granted, and claim that it is simply a part of how life is. However, not only does sexism make very little sense once it is questioned, but it also does not have to exist if people in a society decide to make change.

First and foremost, it is important to recognize that the differences between men and women are not nearly as varied as the differences among men, and among women. Siblings raised together, for example, may share several characteristics. Having been raised in the same household, by the same parents, these individuals will have many values in common, and will typically be of the same religion, ethnicity, and class. It does not matter whether the siblings are of the same or opposite biological sex. However, two women might have nothing in common except their biological sex; what will an upper-class, Christian, seventeen-year-old heterosexual woman from Minnesota have in common with a working-class, Muslim, forty-five-year-old lesbian woman from California? When people make claims about the differences between men and women, it is clear that they are considering “men” and “women” to be two homogenous groups, made up of people who are all incredibly similar.

Secondly, it is essential to recognize and acknowledge that sex and gender are socially constructed categories. While many people feel comfortable with the idea that there are two sexes, and that every individual is one sex or the other, “male” and “female” are simply two ends of a wide sexual spectrum. There is no set way to even define “male” and “female:” individuals with an X and a Y chromosome with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) will be virtually indistinguishably from what we consider biological women; many men have high levels of estrogen, and many women have high levels of testosterone; many women are unable to conceive, and many men are also infertile; men and women can have breasts and reproductive organs removed, and some organs can be constructed; and so on.

However, when a child is born in a hospital in the United States, the first thing that the doctor announces is the sex of the child; this is an assigned sex, not a biological fact. Approximately 1.7% of people in the United States are born intersexed, meaning either that they have both male and female genitalia, or that they have ambiguous genitalia. Since a child cannot leave the hospital without a name and sex on the birth certificate, sex must be assigned. The designated sex is signified usually with a pink or a blue cap during the baby’s stay in the hospital. It is important to recognize that not only are some individuals neither male nor female, but also that the first thing that we do as a society is assign a sex and begin the gendering process.

Gender is not biologically inherent, indicated by the simple fact that the roles, traits, and stereotypes that we assign to men and to women vary extensively across cultures and throughout history. A baby does not select a pink or a blue cap to wear—the nurses put it on the baby based on the child’s sex. If a person sees a parent with a baby, and the baby is wearing blue, s/he usually asks how old the person’s son is. Commercials for Barbie Dolls feature a significant amount of pink, a female announcer voice, and little girls playing with the large-breasted toys. Commercials for Hot Wheels show little boys playing with the miniature cars and ramps, while a male announced tells us how cool these toys are. When a girl is picked on in school, adults usually tell her to either ignore the bully, tell a teacher, or to try to reason with the bully verbally. When a boy is being picked on, those same adults typically tell him to fight back. This unconscious gendering reinforces the idea that men are allowed to be violent, and that women are responsible for peace-making. These behaviors are learned, not biologically inherent.

The social construction of gender is also apparent when we examine gender stereotypes critically and compare ourselves and the people we know to these standards. For example, it is a common stereotype that women are very nurturing, and that women are very good with children and like to take care of them. Considering that many women choose not to have children, or that some women are incredibly terrible at childcare, it is very obvious that this stereotype is not a truth. It is also a stereotype that men are afraid of commitment. However, there are plenty of men who enjoy being in long-term, committed relationships.

If sex and gender are constructed, and gender stereotypes are not based on truth, then why is sexism a problem? What purpose does it serve? What must society as a whole do to eradicate this discrimination and the harassment that comes with it?

The categorization of people is accompanied by the construction of a hierarchy. Upper class is the dominant class; white is the dominant ethnicity; Christianity is the dominant religion; heterosexuality is the dominant sexuality; and men are the dominant sex. These categories, like sex and gender, are not based on any solid biological fact or inherent truth, and therefore the dominance of particular group cannot be naturally maintained. Instead, dominance must be maintained through stereotypes. Therefore, while an African-American might not be denied a job because of h/er race, s/he might be denied a job because of negative stereotypes associated with h/er race. In that same fashion, while a woman might not be denied a job simply because of her sex, she might be denied a job because of the assumption that she might have a baby, or that she might not be confrontational or ambitious enough to succeed.

Sexism does not simply occur during the job search. It occurs in gym class, where boys are picked to be on teams first. It occurs in professional sports, where men and women do not play on the same team, and where women’s teams are frequently ignored or non-existent. It occurs in the gendering of children using toys and commercials. It occurs when parents teach daughters to cook, and sons to mow the lawn. It occurs when parents encourage young girls to baby sit to earn extra money, but suggest that boys get a paper route. Gendering and sexism go hand in hand.

Sexism can be more than just discrimination or gendering. Harassment and violence are the easiest way to keep categories separate and the dominant group in power. If a young boy brings stuffed animals to show-and-tell, and explains how he sews clothing for them, his peers will mercilessly tease him because of his lack of conformity. At the same time, if a girl cuts her hair short and is good at sports, her peers might spread rumors that she is a lesbian, or that she is actually a boy. Most of the time, when children are teased at school, they are being teased for not conforming to gender stereotypes. This harassment exists for a purpose, although many people never realize that purpose: to humiliate peers into conformity.

While sexism does exist, no one is restricted to inaction. Change is not only possible, but it is also necessary to achieve a truly equal society. Sexism has been challenged before; women can now vote, women can work almost any job that men can work, and women can continue their education and attend colleges and universities. There is absolutely no reason to believe that sexism cannot be totally eradicated. People can do so by changing “non-gendered” policies so that they address sex and gender inequalities, by doing their best to ensure that children are not gendered into sexist roles, and by addressing issues of sexism more seriously. Sexism cannot be eliminated from our culture until everyone takes an active role in tackling the issue and ensuring that the next generation can enjoy a more egalitarian culture. Eventually, if every generation makes a point of purging society of sexual discrimination as best it can, everyone might eventually enjoy lives free of sexism.

* Since the English language is ridiculous and currently lacks un-gendered third person, singular pronouns, I will be using s/he and h/er in that capacity. If anyone has a problem with that, s/he may bite me.

Power Shot presents awesomeness. In no way was this taken seriously.

The Weaker Gender: Why Men Prevail
By Power Shot
Good evening everyone. Or, rather, konbanwa to others who might not speak English. Today I have been asked to take time from my busy schedule of tomcatting about town and speak about a very important subject that people the world over have discussed for as long as women have held the power to send men to sleep on the couch: which is the weaker sex, and which rises above its peers? The answer, to me, is a resounding vote in the Male department, but for others this requires exposition, analysis, and, of course, more of my glorious reasoning before they too can cast their ballots in favor of my will. So, why are men the superior gender? Is it our ability to make armpit farts that wins the day? Of course not. Could it be our indescribable greatness as we stand before a barbeque pit, prideful as we cook in a manner that Jesus himself would have cooked in had they invented barbeque pits in the old first century A.D? Quite possibly. Maybe it’s the way we smell after being doused in the pouring rain, or the steadiness of our voices as we announce our permission to let our woman pick what bikini she would like, so long as it is the one we want. It could be any number of things, so perhaps instead of continuing to ramble like so many women often do we should discuss this in a civilized manner: by arm wrestling while attempting to bite through a fully blown-up tire.

Attraction: Our Choice
In the animal world it is an accepted fact that the female often chooses the male. The guy monkey must make a display of things, jump up and down, possibly throw his feces in a rather creative way to win the love of his primate darling. That’s how it works in a lot of species, but not ours! Oh, it’s true that human dudes must grab the attention of sweet lady fair. We must dress nice, work out, take good care of our exquisite hair, or else we get a face full of Mace when we go pick up women. But wait a moment, let’s think about this: men get to choose their mates in the human species. Yes! While it’s very true that women can accept or reject any man that appears before them, their minds can be changed. I’ve noticed that women seem more interested in finding a connection then anything else, which is something very, very useful. If a man finds a girl unattractive, there is absolutely nothing short of kidnapping him she can do to change his mind, whereas women can easily fall in love with the somewhat plain guy. It happens all the time! Think about it guys, don’t you see so many average men with gorgeous women? Men have the edge, not women, and that’s a fact!

Mind Games: Men Play Them Too
But attraction isn’t the only thing that women don’t have the advantage in. When assuming that she has a choice in selecting her mate, a woman will do one of two things: she will either accept him unconditionally, but that’s just a myth, or she will proceed to test him to see how long it takes to crack him. Women love to make men do what they want, and that’s why it’s so funny when we don’t. If a woman wants to go out on a date, clear it through your schedule, not hers. It’ll make her go crazy that she’s lost power! If she wants a fancy present, make her something handmade and see what she does. Women often test us men with these difficult, extremely annoying examinations, it’s worse than any final ever conceived by a school teacher or college professor! So fight back men, rather than sit back and let them have their way with us (that comes later, if you play your cards right!). This can even work to your advantage in a relationship, since women love surprises, especially if they’re what the lady’s been wanting all along. For her birthday, don’t take her to a fancy restaurant and a movie. Cook for her at home with a private candlelit table, give her handmade gifts that you’ve taken time and care into producing instead of jewelry. She’ll be so in love with you that you’ll even be considering holding her off when she pounces you. We, as men, can play the mind game battle better because women never expect it coming from us. And they love surprises, as I’ve stated earlier.

Angus Beef
Now that I’ve discussed mind games and attraction, let’s talk about something a lot of men worry about: size. Yes the size of…let’s say their “foot”…is highly important to men. They believe that to have a big “foot” is needed to properly romance a girl. Gentlemen, nothing could be further from the truth. If they can see your “foot” and they’ve been romanced, they shan’t care in the slightest. On the other hand, we men are highly picky, and while several of us don’t care about the sizes of a woman’s…let’s say “nose”…as long as we get to see them, we have more specific tastes than women. This is naturally because we have more culture, a more refined taste. We know what we want, women don’t, and that’s another fact that I guarantee to be true!

In Closing
Well, that was quite a trip, wasn’t it? We’ve discussed all sorts of things, and I can only feel that I’ve only scratched the surface of what really makes men the superior gender. Is it that we as men must struggle when we don our man-thongs in battle, and that we do so proudly when the situation calls for it? Are there more wonders of manliness I’ve yet to discuss? Probably, but my time is limited. To all the women that are offended by this, you are proving my point exactly, and to all the men who read this: God speed.

You may now prostrate yourself before my Man glory.

I shall present my essay, or why ladies are the best.

Mr. Mom and Mrs. Dad

an essay by Ameera Mae Laramie

It was often common to have women stay at home with the children when they are younger, taking on a part time job on the side while also taking care of the household chores such as cleaning, laundry, and cooking. They did this while juggling children going to school, going to work every day and coming home late, and making sure that they still had time for their husband when the family sat down for dinner at night. The next morning the mother would do it all over again and without batting an eye, becoming Super Mom to her children.

Times are now changing, with men taking more of an active role in the household and becoming stay-at-home fathers for their children. This allows women to be free of the daily household chores they once had to do, giving their chores to their "house husbands" so that women can pursue a more active lifestyle outside of the house. Women can now push the laundry, the cleaning of the house, the dishes, and many other chores onto their husbands so that they are now free to step up in the world and not have to worry about overburdening themselves with chores. Even though the men now run the family home, the women are still in control of the house and are now seen as the primary bread-maker, which gives them total control of the finances of the home and how money is spent within their budget.

With over 159,000 men staying at home, and the number growing every year, where does this leave the women of today? Instead of giving up her career and jobs to stay home to take care of the kinds, having her husband remain at home allows the wife to continue on with her careers while still being a Super Mom to her children. It also allows women to do more and more outside of the home and with their careers then they would if they stayed at home; having the man stay at home gives them more freedoms then they would have if the man did not stay at home. This allows the wife to tell the husband to have dinner ready by the time she gets home from her full-time job and not a minute later, becoming the boss of the family instead of the men. Women who work often contribute significantly more to their families income, with the wife holding high-paying jobs such as pharmacists, lawyers, and computer systems analysts and scientists.

Having more than one job while also supporting her family allows the women of the world to show that they will do anything for their family and because they are the primary money maker of the household, they have more influence on where the money goes and how it is spent. Even though the men may have a part time job on the side as well as staying at home to raise the kids, the work done at a part-time job is usually around $128,755 and is about $9,000 less than provided if a mother stayed at home. While the husband may have a part time job elsewhere, it is still up to the woman to bring home more money to support her family and to allow herself to become more and more empowered with the skills of the working mother.

Women who have their husbands stay at home with the kids generally still have the nurturing mother side to them. They still remember doctor's appointments, soccer matches and other sport related games, and school plays. On the contrary, men have to be constantly reminded of when their daughter's play is, when the son's football game is, and how much time the kids need to spend doing homework. Even with the wife working out of the house for their careers, they often still run their home from the redundant office in order to keep chaos from burning the house down. Men, while they try the best they can, can not compete with the nurturing side of the mother, who will do more than put a band-aid on a skinned knee and tell the kids there's no monster in the closet. Mothers will kiss the knee when it hurts and check the closest to check for any monsters.

In all respects, women are becoming the superior being over their male counterpart because human evolution is lagging on the male side. Most of the evolution of the human race in the last 60 million years or so took place during the times when hunter/gatherer tribes were the most needed. In such a tribe, aggressive behavior on part of males was supposed to be the survival trait with relating/caring behavior as the survival trait for females. This meant that males had gone out to hunt for food, water, and other necessities while the women stayed back at the camps or caves to tend to the younger ones. Now that behavior is outdated, allowing women to go out into the world to become hunters to leave the men at home to take of the children and the home instead of the women.

However in the last twenty thousand years, the need for hunter aggressiveness has gone the way of the Dodo completely. This means that the hunting nature of the males has become relativity extinct while the need for relating and caring has become the primary trait among humans today. This has allowed women to provide better traits suited for today's world and beyond while working and maintaining control of their families in a modern society. They no longer have the need to depend on a man to provide food and shelter for her, having the strength, ability, and state of mind to go out and become the hunter that a woman embodies, providing for her family and evolving more and more.

Women are ideally suited to overcrowded, intensive environments where they can easily communicate with others better than men can. In all respects, women can function at a higher rate then a man can, using more skills at their jobs then ever before. Research confirms that although the brains of men are 10% larger then female brains, certain brain areas in women contain more nerve cells. At the same time, researchers wanted to know if women had much more grey matter as men or more, to make up for their smaller brain size. They found that women have 55.4% more grey matter verses the 50.8% in men. This allows women to perform at a higher level than a man could, giving her more chances at better jobs and more pay then her male counterpart.

By definition, grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system (CNS), which consists of cell bodies which routes sensory or motor stimulus to interneurons of the CNS in order to create a response to the stimulus through chemical synapse activity. With more grey matter in their brains, women are more able to use their motor and sensory skills then men can, allowing them to perform their tasks at a higher rate.

Men were designed, by evolution, for an environment that hasn't existed for 20 thousand years. Their roles as the hunters has ended, giving up their dominant roles to become Mr. Mom at home and allowing the women to take high pay careers and be the head of the household. Women have more power, more rights, more freedoms, and better living conditions than ever before and nothing will stand in their way.

What is it that causes us to wonder?

Why, wherever you place people, do you find the same mainstays? It's as though the skull is a flute, and if you blow any thought through it for long enough it will make the same sounds.

What is it that causes us to paint? To draw, to form -- to create? Why is it that wherever we find humans, we also find art? What is it that causes us to, even with with no contact with one another create music; Not so dissimilar in taste and emotion?

Why is it that, even when many miles apart with minds separated by the darkness of distance people thought of the image of a great creator? Time and time again, what is arguably the greatest story ever told appears in many different guises.

One might say that to deny these things is almost inhuman. Wherever we find our brothers, we find the same things, the same questions. 'Is there such a thing as truth?' 'Is there a soul?' -- you could say that these things are intrinsically human, part of what defines us.

...But we are far from perfect. Ants and Gorillas -- one alike to humankind in terms of eloquence of society, and the other in grace of mind, one alike to humankind in terms of slaughter and the other for killing competition unto it.

Why is it that the more like a human something becomes, the greater its predisposition to shed life? Why can we, the most intelligent race, not stop killing each other? The dynasty of war is the longest -- running on, unbroken -- that this Earth has seen.

Why deny humans this? Why deny them art? Why deny them warmth? Why deny them song? To do so is against human nature.

To do so is not the human heart.

-----

Demancipation: The oppression of women. In every society in the world, this can be seen. One can almost imagine why: Survival in early civilizations would have meant almost constant procreation, and the male part was altogether shorter. Being stronger in the body and not having to take five months out of every year must have looked good on the Caveman CV.

Considering that the wheels would have fallen off the Homo bus if the women had acted like men -- mortality rate was high, and the need to keep children safe was absolute. The male brocan were better designed to go off and find food, and the female to care for children. It worked: The mighty rose and those who didn't quite manage fell away.

It makes you wonder, though, why in today's society -- where our leaders are nto judged on their bear wrestling record, but on their ability to find a legal record quickly, why the females among us are not more often higher in the social standing, especially considering they often score higher in public examinations.

Leaders today don't need to know their way around a jungle, but a library. We'd have thought that as medicine increased, women would have achieved a more even standing?

It is interesting that they haven't.


I mean, there are reasons why this trend has continues so readily -- arrogance, religion and the same ol' genetics playing it forward. In the West, we like to think that it shouldn't matter who you are, what you think you are or whether you're in a boyband or shifty and beige or both -- it's about what you DO -- your actions speaking for themselves.

Which seems fair, considering that you have no control over what you were born like, and therefore cannot be held responsible for something which is, inherently, random.

It is a wonder why, then, we side with such places as Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan -- where women are considered a little less insulting than dogs.

Only a little less, they won't use women.

Based on where your chromosome fell, you are either a fully-functioning member of society, or a being with no rights -- to drive, to be educated, to be free in public without an escort, to show your face. If you are a woman who is raped and you make it to court, you'll need three other women to testify alongside you because you word is worth only 1/3 of a man's.

Under Sharia law, the words of a noble religion twisted -- by men -- women are 33% of a person.

In all respects, we should not be friends with these people. In fact, every woman in the twinned nations America and England should be in outrage -- but they're not. It's kept quiet and we're receiving oil and removing our enemies while making a pretty little backhand off the African herion trade.

Because the duly elected officials of our two countries (men) decide such things are more important.

How can we excuse this? Look into the eyes of any man who has raped, or tortured, or at on children, no matter what his society and upbringing -- if he thinks that when those eyes were consorting with his victim's he did nothing wrong, then there's something the matter with him.

Can we not see that there is something that is the matter with treating half of the population of the same species -- with little doubt the half worthy of the most respect and nice treatment -- as something less than human? Why can't we empathize? What if the tables were turned?

Now -- we all knew that the equality in the workplace movement was all about supremacy. Strict dresscode for men, and none for women -- one-way restriction of speech, it goes on. This works in much the way that Ghandi and countless Italian grandmothers did -- when it comes down to, no matter how piercing their words or pure, bubbling, basil-seasoned evil you see gleaming in their eyes -- they're just a wrinkly old person who you cannot lay a finger on, for fear of becoming the tightest flick who's ever lived. The Nappy was Ghandi's greatest weapon. The more strength the man has, the less he's allowed to use.

And so why don't they dominate entirely? Again -- due to arrogance. Not enough men are prepared to vote for a woman for much the same reason as Americans won't put that cross next to a black man (At least one that's not on fire) -- the emancipation was too recent, they haven't managed to adjust. Locked up in our cemented houses, learning from our fathers, generation after generation locking our consciencies up with closed ears like a child in a charnel house.

There's not much more to say. I feel that, yes, demancipation is wrong -- but I'm on the side that benefits from it and I'm not quite as active as I could be. And now that I've alienated NATO, ten thousand gun-toting Afghans and some seven arab states -- I'm keen not to say anything that might incriminate me further.

Freedom is something that everyone should have. This is as simple as it gets -- you cannot hold anyone accoutnable for cirbumstances beyond their control -- if someone with cruel parents with a deformed face who unfortunately lost his arm is a stange cheeserolling accident called 'BillyBobBinLaden' comes up for election as senator -- it's not up to us to deny him the right as an equal citizen.

But what can we DO? This problem isn't just in the minds of the males, it's in the minds of the women of the world too -- not to mention in the DNA of all. How can we encourage people to be equal while some are quite content to be oppressed? How do we end the cycle? How can we teach these ideas and give them a fair hearing for all without removing culture and identity?

If it goes against human nature to end wars, does it also go against human nature to emancipate those from a society who cannot handle them well?

This isn't for me to say -- any evidence will mean more if gathered by the reader.

Human nature wasn't meant for freedom, it was meant for procreation and finding the best fruit. Maybe we need to deny that which is most central to our hearts, because that is what binds us to our cycle. All that I can do is lay down the facts and stimulate further thoughts.

Don't let me bias you. Go forth and seek a better way.

~Awkin, 26-TNim-20089

1 MIN TO MIDNIGHT

SCORE

Islam's Deficient, Better Half

The modern, Western world as we know it has ceased to judge the question of the female condition in religious terms. The gulf between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam appears vocally large, but it is in silence that agreement on an innumerable number of ideals can be observed, including the role and place of the woman as opposed to the man. However, discussing theology in a few pages is an exercise in futility and slightly more useless than discussing gender issues altogether. What points can be made tend to fall into generalizations of religious dogma which, in contradiction to the term, is too diverse among the several sects and schools within each faith. Therefore, it is civilization based upon faith that one must focus on; in this case it is Islamdom and not Islam - civilization and not dogma.

While the Western world, what was once Christendom, has ceased to be defined religiously and thus ceased to define the question of gender issues on religion (mostly), the modern world has now caught up with what was once Islamdom. The emphasis here is that almost-recent history has shown an acceptance among the Middle East and South Asia to define issues such as women rights, identity, and suffrage on a secular, modern model. However, recent history has led to resurgence, revival, or more accurately a rollback of the secular worldview to one more conscious of the religious past. Old questions once answered by advent students of secularism, including the subject of women in the community, were contemplated and answered again, but this time with a mind empathetic to the older foundations and rites of Islamdom, usually in the form of Shari’ah or Holy Law.

Islamic Law, as far as pre-modern history is concerned, was never a system but rather a fluid body of jurisprudence and consensus. Most of it is simply moral guidance and extrapolation not enforceable in any court of law (even in Islamist courts). In theory egalitarian, Islamic society has accepted certain ‘truths’ just like its sister religions, that the full rights and authority of a ‘citizen’ is given to adult, free Muslim men. In contrast, the child, the slave, the non-believer, and the woman are considered deficient by association. And while the child may age, the slave manumitted, and non-believer converted, only the woman (whether Muslim or not) holds the precarious condition of unchanging status. Middle Eastern non-religious society shares the same recognition of the ‘deficiency’ of the woman, but it is unknown whether this or religion was the cause of such prejudice. More importantly, however, is that this dynamic is self-fulfilling. When religion dictates greater freedom to women, tradition provides a harbor as is the case with honor-killing. And when religion (or the religious powers that be) is cause for oppression of women, tradition (much of it new and secular) can step in and ignore the decrees of the piously tyrannical.

To the surprise of many who’s experience in Middle Eastern history began and ended with the past 7 years, women suffrage, equal rights, and short mini-skirts was the first answer to the question of ‘woman’ in the modern Middle East. Secular regimes with secular constitutions ruled by secular parliaments and manned by secular students were all the rage among the eighteenth and nineteenth century statesmen of North Africa and the Middle East. Experiments with democracy (and socialism as its rival) were attempted with portentous fanaticism and oddly enough had the support of most of the Muslim Ulema, the theological circles of academia. Today, with the rise of political Islam and, because of it, religious revivalism, the advancements that Muslims have made concerning the condition of women in society appears to have stalled and fallen backwards.

Fortunately, modernism once embraced is not easily discarded. Even the most extreme traditionalists, the Salafist Wahabbis of Saudi Arabia, have no problem with driving cars and using modern technology (however, they extend their view of women and their restrictions to include cars and other technology). The Islamic Revolution saw the mass involvement and suffrage of Iranian women in favor of the Ayatollah Khomeini and many Iranian women embrace liberal headscarf chic rather than don the full burka. Islamist revivalists wish to turn the clock back, but some attitudes cannot be undone so easily. Sadly, however, violent oppression works where ideological struggle fails. Zealous implementation and enforcement of a Shari’ah law system, what Islamists have claimed to be the tool for establishing social justice, has led to much heartache (and in the case of women, a high body count).

As Ayatollah Khomeini realized, women in the Middle East are no longer deficient wards of a patriarch but a powerful constituency and active in civic society. The roaming morality police unleashed upon the people are completely capable of barbarism towards women to promote a fantasy of subservient women under the power of their betters in gender, but are indeed powerless to force women back into the seclusion of their homes. Indeed, women all over the Middle East are playing increasingly active roles in society and politics; and perhaps these countries have outdone many Western nations in promoting and accepting women in public office. Indeed, the question of the ‘woman’ has been re-examined by a more religiously aware civilization in favor of a return to traditionalism. There are many issues of violence and repression that cannot be ignored. However, the answers many Islamists and traditionalists have decided upon are fortunately mutable and malleable. As democracy and modernism take hold in countries disillusioned by both leftist dictators and conservative clerics, women slowly reclaim their position of man’s better half.