Majella Therese D.

Amante BS Psych 1A

As reading through this article ‘The Named and the Nameless’ it was no different than of
today that men hold more social power in society. It was indeed triggering having to read this
article as what I have heard from the discussion from yesterday. Starting from the first
paragraph down, on how women were treated as less than men in society, it was easy for me to
judge the past that we, women, were poorly mishandled. Even mere baby girls were sent to
danger because they were less of value back then, this is heartbreaking for me that women that
time had to go through that just because they are women and the word men was of high
importance. I know that there was still no laws or constitutions that make up their society back
then, but the act of not giving women their names it was taking their rights from them. Back
then, naming men was a transition for them to be a part of the society or to be more socialized
and according to the article they became more individuated or more significant; to put it more
simply, men having more names or having four names gave them a higher ranking or social
status in the society.

In the past Chinese cultures, especially in a village Hu Tsuen, truly, women were treated
just as anybody not by somebody who was part of society or of having some importance as men
did, women were just labeled unvalued. One thing that caught my attention also was that,
women from Hu Tsuen village were outsiders, men had to marry from other communities but
they were treated as suspects in their village, I did not get the logic of the men marrying them
but was treated merely as a means. Back then, people did not know how powerful women were
because they were just at home working with the chores and caring for the family but we were
more than that, if not because of us women, those men would not be able to produce an
offspring it was as if they were just treating women back then as breeding grounds and that was
sick. Even as babies, there was a visible patriarchal society, the boys were given a full
celebration after the 30 days of their birth and baby girls were even thrown away to elephants
and if they survived the feat that determines that they should live life and it is saddening to be a
part of that society.

The part when men and women decide to get married it was a way for men to have the
attainment of essential male adulthood it becomes more dramatic because women are drawn to
serve their husband and of course to take care of her family, women were tied of up with this
kind of lifestyle for forever. It is unfair when they get married that women forcibly leave their past
life for a new one which I can say that some of these relationships are arranged like that. In
other words, women in the past were treated as slaves, and other derogatory means to treat
them unequally or less of a person. In today’s society we, women are more striving and we fight
back to smash the patriarchy because this is gender inequality. Women now are working hand
in hand against this oppressive power structure.