Is Being A Women A Joon

[Mat Pulo Rai]

True. But the way modern society in all cultures (including the western culture which falsely promotes the frankly laughable belief their women are free and equal to men in many respects) has reduced the female's worth into nothing more but what she can offer from a sexual perspective - and all related aspects of that particular spectrum - then that is an absolute tragedy.

If my Sikh sisters think our Panjabi culture is restrictive, backwards and male-biased compared to the dream-like western culture, they are sadly mistaken. Whilst our culture is exactly what it appears to be on the surface, the so-called civilised equality of the west is largely the same as ours, on the whole, but the only difference being they've done a great job of dressing it up so that women BELIEVE it is different.

Lol really you believe that??

[VanHelsingh]

Lol really you believe that??

You don't?

Have you not noticed how girls are being sexualised from an early age in order to fit a particular box or category in which they're encouraged to stay in all their lives? Not grooming or anything paedophilic but much more covert than that. A female senses the general attitude that pervades society that her worth is only measurable through how she appears on the surface. She's bombarded from an early age with images, television programmes, songs, etc., that all promote that dodgy ideal in varying forms of severity.

The upshot being if a girl doesn't fit that particular template then as a female she's failed! How bloody depressing is that? Why is it that most girls - who've fallen for this nefarious "programming" - suffer from self-esteem issues throughout their pubescent years and beyond? Of course some of it is due to the obvious demands of puberty but there's also external influences such as feeling they aren't fulfilling the "ideal" image everyone around them is perceiving to be the norm - the very same image males have been encouraged to view the female as!

A parent of a female child in this day and age needs to be on the ball from day one and be capable of shielding their daughter from the malign, covert influences of the media in all it's forms. The problem is if the parents do a commendable job at home (i.e. in terms of instilling into their daughter the necessary values of equality and confidence), as soon as the child enters schooling the children of careless and thoughtless parents begin having a negative influence on the child; we all know how children are prone to follow and listen to their peers.

The media is awash with images of how females should appear, and surprise surprise, the ideal image can be described as an agreeable sex conduit whose only purpose in life is to please the male!

At least with Panjabi society everyone is upfront about equality - or the lack of it (doesn't make it right btw). In western civilisation the so-called advancement of civilised society and sensible societal norms mask the truth behind a veneer of respectability and progress, when in-fact it's the complete opposite when the surface is scratched.

If you still think I'm barking up the wrong tree Mat Pulo Rai Ji, then check-out these links:

http://influence.baf...-appearance.php

http://www.vegfamily...ix-year-old.htm

http://www.crisiscon...ce_on_youth.htm

[_singhni_]

Kind of agree with kuljug je's most recent post..its definitely something to think about..but think parents need to have their boys on lock to lol..this 1 rule for the daughter and another for the son messes the girl up..

[VanHelsingh]

Kind of agree with kuljug je's most recent post..its definitely something to think about..but think parents need to have their boys on lock to lol..this 1 rule for the daughter and another for the son messes the girl up..

Yeah I've heard this is prevalent in Panjabi culture. Although being an only child and having been raised in a manner which I considered some females in other families to have it easier compared to my strict upbringing so I couldn't possibly comment. :biggrin2:

[LoveWaheguruSinghni]

i absolutely love this shabad so beautiful, makes me wanna cry sometimes

I love this shabad too:D

BTW what is a joon? lol

[TheFancyBanana]

a joon is a life form you go through when you are reincanated in the 8.4million types of living beings on earth

[Mat Pulo Rai]

@KalJug Totally agree with your analyses, from a sikh point view what western press, media, Mags, are showing is a beauty driven society, and is a marketing tool in which large companies pump hundreds of millions of pounds a year on trying to sell their products, from skin care, to cloths to cosmetic surgery, this is partly because it’s a part of our mind frame, all that has happened is over the centuries its become more capitalized and now a multibillion dollar industry, it’s not that the media has brought this way of thinking to society it’s that they have seen the trend and created products to tailor peoples wants, which intern women with their size 0 figures are shown on Tv, and give people there refrence of what is culturally expectable,

It’s not only western cultures which have shown this favoritism to beauty its has been seen in our indian culture for 100's of years with light skin being preferred over dark skin, a slim figure over being overweight, or what is deemed as beautiful on their wedding day.

More so physical beauty and how to please men stereotype have been within all societies over the world, (not just a western phenomenon) whether it’s been the Indians with their books on how to please men in bed, or african women elongating there necks as it was a sign of beauty, or the Belly dancer stereotype in the Arab world.. it all comes down to men wanting to look attractive to women and women to men, so they go to extreme extents to conform with the norm at that time, it’s just we have the size 0 now, 70 years ago it was super mum with thin waste wide hips and a smile

It was only after the Feminist movement in 1960s that got people wanting to branch out and find their own way to look, and in Africa having a long neck was a sign of beauty and a way to attract boys “Small girls may wear brass collars from the age of two to five years old, as it is more comfortable to lengthen the neck slowly. The alternative is rapid and painful lengthening of the neck at around the age of twelve, when girls first begin to compete for the attention of boys, (You've got to keep in mind this is without the bubble of media and is a tribe based notion of what it deemed a attractive look for Girls) quote from wiki, and there loads of different examples over the world where women of the time have conformed to what the notation of beauty is in there society, be that European, Asian African or Western.

But from a Sikh view point it’s all just rubbish, Gurbani has such a cold and Harsh analogy of what the prasuit of Beauty is

bisattaa asath rakath paraettae chaam |

you are just excrement, bones and blood, wrapped up in skin

eis oopar lae raakhiou gumaan |3|

- this is what you are taking such pride in! ||3||

Way to put things in to perspective

[VanHelsingh]

@ Mat Pulo Rai - I also agree with your analysis! :biggrin2:

It was remiss of me to say the media created the situation we find ourselves in, and thanks for correcting me on that. To be more accurate, they are the enablers and are contributing to the wealth creation in these industries.

Your points about beauty and image being dependent on the specific culture and the period in history is also extremely relevant.

I was approaching the discussion from the angle of how many of our Sikh sisters are quick to lament the injustices and the backwardness of Panjabi culture but feel no compunction in embracing the western culture warts and all. They simply don't see that some aspects of both cultures are harmful but for some reason they prefer the sweeter poison compared to the bitter one.

[innergear]

Bein a man cn B kwyt painfull 2. Dnt u tink?

[simran345]

Bein a man cn B kwyt painfull 2. Dnt u tink?

Translation: Being a man can be quite painful too. Don't you think?