Women today are still constantly improving themselves on the way to gaining "equal rights" and locating values and roles for themselves. Confident, independent and self-loving modern women are the new "standard" that women aim at in the increasingly advanced digital age.
Women's journey to overcome gender stereotypes
The beauty standards of Vietnamese women in the past were associated with the tradition of "four virtues - public, dung, language, and conduct" due to the heavy influence of Confucianism . The word "public" is always put on top and requires a woman to first know how to embroider, sew, raise children, sacrifice herself to take care of her husband to build a career... Then "should" beautiful, dignified. The beauty of a woman encapsulated in the word "dung" is to be modest, modest, discreet, simple, ...
Next, women also have to perfect their "language" of intentions, tolerance, generosity, standard speech, and rules. Finally, it is necessary to have the virtue of being faithful, loyal to the family, respecting the upper and lower, maintaining the family etiquette, following the morals in life. Only then will they not be ridiculed, reprimanded, ridiculed by the world, and affected the reputation of the family.
That "golden jade" measure full of social prejudices makes women, when born, have been raised and taught according to the right framework, have no right to control to decide or choose and, of course, they can't go wrong. Okay. The subconscious of women born in ancient regimes is set to the standards that their fathers and grandfathers predestined. Because they can't decide their own lives, they can only accept their fate like a robot and just follow the orders of their superiors.
The two words "peaceful" seem to be deeply embedded in the thoughts of many people, including women themselves. In their minds, no matter how successful a woman is, it is difficult to separate from the responsibility, duty and role of a mother and wife, which is to sacrifice for the home and family happiness. When talking about the beauty of women in the past, most people remember the pre-constructed preconceived image, which is in the mold of the must-have image.
Until women are more respected according to the development of the times, they have rights and dare to stand up for equality. The birth of the law on gender equality as a declaration to liberate women from social prejudices. Celebrations, honoring and recognizing the great merits of women are held. That is the first successful step of women on the journey of self-improvement: taking the opportunity to be yourself.
But, even if they already have the right to decide and choose, social prejudices and life pressures are still a big wall preventing them from developing their own personality. This problem is more evident when they go out to work, they have to struggle to get the right to choose their favorite field, work according to their needs and desires. Like men, women still have to do their part well, when mistakes are still punished and responsible for all omissions. After a hard time working outside, at home, women still have to be in charge of "female housework", cooking, taking care of the family, teaching children to study, taking care of and taking care of everything.
The role of women in many traditional views and social stereotypes is sacrificial. They make sacrifices for their family and society in accordance with morals and ethics. Because a woman's duty is to be a wife, mother, and sacrifice everything for the "pillar" of the family to develop her career. So where is the woman's career? It is the family and their thoughtful, caring image.