Introduction
The concept of gender is derived from gender identity and gender roles. In general the term gender refers to the individual roles of males and females respectively. On the other hand, gender identity is used to describe the personal perception of oneself as either male or female. Gender identity relates to the idea of gender role – which refers to the outward manifestation of a person’s characteristics that imitate the gender identity. In most societies, gender stratification is closely associated with patriarchy – as it describes the social systems in which men occupy a higher status than women. Similarly patriarchy refers to the social system where men hold the primary power and dominate leadership roles, moral authority, control property and take charge of the social privilege. This paper evaluates how gender roles and identities play a significant role in defining the social status of both men and women in the society. The paper will begin by examining how Daodejing text challenged the patriarchal societies in China.
The Daodejing use of language demonstrates feminine imagery throughout the text. The philosophy in this text supports the concept of “proto-feminism” – through the emphasis on non-assertive behavior, supports gender equality and it celebrates the female gender, the resilient nature of women and the nurturing trait of a mother. The feminine imagery demonstrated throughout the text illustrates how Daodejing has contributed to the evolution of feminism.
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Daodejing is considered to be the earliest text to challenge patriarchy systems that were common in ancient Chinese society. Daodejing was fundamental in the way in which it criticized the wide range of existing beliefs, norms, values and practices of the ancient Chinese society. The text was skeptical about the prevailing notions of strength, achievement and power and the disdained efforts to achieve certain aspects of Daodejing. Nonetheless, Daodejing illustration of strength, power and the desire to conquer are insightful of a masculinity perspective (Tzu, 1963). Contrary to this notion, the approach that is endorsed in the Daodejing is linked to femininity as it suggests that the “female always overcomes the male by tranquility, and by tranquility she is underneath” (Tzu, 1963).
The text, Daodejing, includes two terms that refer to the female gender or femininity. The terms “ci” and “pin” are used interchangeably in various contexts to emphasize the idea of adhering to the female principles (Lai, 2000). According to Lai (2000) the emergence of contemporary feminism in the 20 th century is attributed to the evolution of feminism throughout the centuries – beginning with Daodejing which is referred to as “proto-feminism.” Daodejing as a classical Chinese philosophy has significantly contributed to the concept of feminism in China.
Despite the economic, political and social changes in China, women continue to face discrimination within the Chinese culture – which values and emphasizes on patriarchy and familial piety. Daoism is both a religion and a philosophy which is made up various branches that have evolved over the years. However, the language used in the Daodejing text elaborates the theme of feminism.
In most religions and philosophies in the world, there is a common practice of placing masculine perspective as the focal point of one’s culture, social system and history. Simone de Beauvior supports this argument as she evaluated how various political and ethical dimensions promoted patriarchy. Beauvior argues that people are willing to sacrifice individual freedom and responsibility by identifying with certain ideas. In her book “The Second Sex” Beauvior asserts that throughout history women were demoted to the level of immanence – and the passive acknowledgement of the roles that are ascribed to them by the society. The Daodejing text shows how in traditional Chinese society men have always been treated as the dominant and more superior people as opposed to women. As a result, the female gender has been thought of as the weaker sex.
The Daoist philosophy supported gender equality – whereby this concept was endorsed in the symbol “yin-yang.” The term “yin-yang” reflected the complementary, dualistic and equality and interdependent nature of the male (yang) and female (yin) traits. The symbolic nature of this term implies that these genders are equal and important in creating and sustaining life. Thus, suggesting that if one of the genders was missing the reality of the social systems in the society would not be complete (Lai, 2000). Beauvior supported gender equality by advocating for freedom, responsibility and ambiguity – thus, using existentialist philosophy as a tool to promote feminism.
Feminist philosophers have played an active role in showing how sexism and toxic masculinity degrade women within the society. According to Vogler (1995) these philosophers understood that the issues of gender equality could not be resolved by merely recognizing the contributions of women in the society. Gender bias was recognized as the primary contributing factor to gender equality. When interpreting the main theme in Daodejing one understands that it focuses on challenging the traditional norms, values and beliefs. For instance in chapters 8,11,26,28 and 36, the text concentrates on what is considered evil, inferior, ugly, low, submissive, black or weak. All these connotations are founded on their ontological primacy (Tzu, 1963). Similarly, the ontological primacy of character traits such as female, weak and submissive ingrained in their moral superiority. On the other hand, Daodejing does not contest the existing norms, but rather asserts that the contrastive traits such as hard, active, strong and male have their distinct place in the society (Tzu, 1963).
The Daodejing views masculinity and feminism as interdependent concepts and discourages the use of a separatists notion that is attributed to the contrastive pairs. On the contrary it affirms that these terms are ontologically related. Furthermore, feminist scholars have identified the inaccuracy and futility of the separatist concept of femininity – with some emphasizing that the separatist accounts are impractical since ““women . . . do not live or act in a world from which men are absent; what it is therefore essential to study . . . is the dynamic of relations between the sexes” (Aaron and Walby, 1991). An example of extreme version of separatism is gynocentrism includes the rejection of the male gender or their masculinity while promoting female exclusivity. Additionally, some feminists have refuted the gynocentric arguments about femininity – by asserting that gynocentrism does not surpass dualism and fails to fulfill the goal it is set out to accomplish (Porter, 1991). Plato’s concept of dualism acknowledged that there are two types of reality – physical and spiritual. The philosophy of the mind and body implies that the state of each these organs are separate, by suggesting that the mental phenomena is spiritual and the body is physical.
The Daoist philosophy argues that the contemporary norms and beliefs should be scrutinized. This is because the Daoist notion of the current ideals includes the dismissal of dichotomous concepts – whereby one set of values is considered to be opposing the other and one set is believed to be superior and the other inferior (Jay, 2000). Consequently, rejection of dichotomy between masculinity and femininity is fundamental in feminist philosophy. The Daoist philosphoy is therefore, scrutinized because none of the femininity or masculinity concepts should be assumed as being dichotomous. When evaluating the egoism-altruism contrast that is linked to masculinity and femininity, egoism is related to a person’s concern in pursuing their own selfish interests – and altruism refers to a person’s ability to deny or set aside their own interest in order to promote other people’s interests.
Conclusion
When examining the Daodejing there are certain values that are linked to the feminine, but it does not reject the values that are associated with the masculinity. Its conclusions about the contrastive pairs, is that it is non-reductionist. However, the feminist philosophy denounces the assimilation and undermining of femininity to masculinity. Consequently, a practical construction of both the masculinity and femininity suggests that the reduction of masculinity and femininity would be perceived to be unsatisfying. On the other hand, reductionist accounts, that both masculinity and femininity are unsatisfying since they artificially disregard the essential features of the gender traits that are being undermined.
References
Aaron, J. & Walby, S. (1991). Out of the Margins . London: Falmer Press
Jay, N. ( 1981) “Gender and Dichotomy,” Feminist Studies 7, no. 1 : 47.
Lai, K. (2000). “The Daodejing: Resources for Contemporary Feminist Thinking, Journal of Chinese Philosophy , 27:2, June, pp. 131-153. E-ISSN: 1540-6253; Print ISSN: 0301-8121.
Porter , E. (1991). Women and Moral Identity. North Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Tzu, L. (1963). Tao Te Ching ; translated with an introduction by D. C. Lau. Penguin Books,
Vogler, C. (1995). Philosophical Feminism, Feminist Philosophy. Philosophical Topics, 23 (2), 295-319. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43154215
