Femininity in Southeast Asia: The Rise of Soft Power
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•1,332 views
This month we're talking about Feminity and the rise of Soft Power in Southeast Asia featuring Emma Gage, Managing Director of Flamingo New York. The struggle for gender equality plays out very differently in a Southeast Asian context. Unlike the 'hard-nosed, railing against the system' often seen in Western feminism discourse, women in this region embrace and utilise the very things that set them apart. Globally, it has been well documented that women have been evolving faster than men – leaving men in a state of crises. In SEA, this phenomena is much more evident as women continue to progress at rapid rates – educationally, economically and socially. Despite this explosion of opportunity that a thriving economy brings – most women are still held back by the traditional expectations around their roles as wife and mother. These expectations are not viewed as regressive and many women take a pragmatic approach in fusing their modern feminine aspirations to socio-cultural expectations.
Recommended
More Related Content
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (20)
Similar to Femininity in Southeast Asia: The Rise of Soft Power
Similar to Femininity in Southeast Asia: The Rise of Soft Power (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (17)
Femininity in Southeast Asia: The Rise of Soft Power
- 1. 1
- 2. The only global creative network for women. SheSays works to help women further their careers in creative industries through events, conferences, meetups & mentoring. > Singapore chapter <
- 3. 3
- 4. Thank You
- 5. Lizi Hamer, Creative Entrepreneur in residence at Arcade. Meera Navaratnam, PR Human at Grayling Asia. Wonderful thinker, brilliant mind.
- 6. Grace Clapham, Change Entrepreneur, Connector and Eco-System Builder. Vicky Chen, Founder of Cartoons Underground.
- 7. Hello Femininity in South East Asia: The Rise of Soft Power Q&A SheSays Singapore Networking
- 8. WOME N I N SE A: T H E R I S E O F S O F T P O WE R S h e S a y s P r e s e n t a t i o n 2 5 M a r c h 2 0 1 5
- 9. WOMEN? SOUTH EAST ASIA? SOFT POWER?
- 10. IN TH E MODE R N WOR LD FE MIN IN E VA LU E S A RE IN TH EIR A SCEN DENCY
- 12. 12 WE LOOK AT THE SURROUN DI N G CULTURAL CON TE XT TO UN DE RSTAN D THE N ATURE OF CHAN G E AN D HOW I T WI LL E VOLVE HISTORIC LEGACY SOCIO- ECONOMICS CULTURAL NORMS
- 13. 13 HI STORI CALLY WOME N I N SE A HE LD A FAVOURABLE POSI TI ON KEY ROLE IN INDIGENOUS RITUALS EQUAL ACCESS TO WORK OUTSIDE OF THE HOME EQUAL LEGAL STATUS
- 14. 14 I MPORTE D PHI LOSOPHIES AND RE LI G I ONS CHAN G E D THE STATUS OF SE A WOME N
- 15. 15 In order to live up to the ideology of “Flower of the Nation”, women had to make themselves beautiful, sweet and docile so as to make men happy and help them perform their duty as the “Fence of the Nation” -Women’s Studies, Power, Knowledge, Justice; Suwan Sath WOME N DE FI N ED BY AN ALL E NCOMPASSI NG DE FI NITION OF ‘ BE AUTI FUL’
- 16. 16 THE DARK E R SI DE OF THI S LE D TO THE SE XUALI SATI ON OF BE AUTY
- 17. Southeast Asia has had a long tradition of displaying and evaluating female beauty. Possession of beauty has long been evidence of legitimate power. Even in contemporary times, politicians are often admired for their beauty rather than judgment Penny Van Esterik, Anthropologist BEAUTY BECAME WHAT WOULD DEFINE HER SUCCESS IN THE WORLD; A ROUTE TO FINDING & KEEPING A HUSBAND, SECURING EMPLOYMENT…
- 18. 18 WE ME THE RE ’S BE E N AN I MPORTANT ‘I NTERNAL’ SHI FT I N WOME N’S RE LATI ONSHIP WI TH THI S PHI LOSOPHY
- 19. 19 I N THE MAI N I T’ S MORE A COLLE CTI VE STRE TCHI NG OF BOUN DARI E S Vs. TOTAL RE ASSE SSME N T
- 20. Even in the media, Asian women continue to be portrayed in massively culturally stereotypical ways. She’s either good or bad; often reflected in physical characteristics – she’s a good mother or a business woman, she’s an exotic prostitute or she’s a gentle flower needing protection from the men in her life Women are no longer just one or the other, but society – especially media, has not yet caught up to this reality - Elizabeth Chan, actress & social commentator
- 21. 21 BEAUTY REPRESENTS THE COMPLEXITY, TENSIONS AND THE NUANCES… THE PUBLIC FACE OF THE DIFFERENT ROLES
- 22. 22 CA REFULLY CON STRUCTED MODES OF FEMIN IN ITY , BECOME A ‘SOFT P OWER’ TO MANIP ULATE AND WIELD WITH A BSOLUTE P URP OSE
- 23. 23 …P LAY I NG UP ‘ HY P E R-FE MI NINE ’ TO MAI NTAIN GE NDE R BALANCE
- 24. 24 …PLAYING UP THE ‘TRADITIONAL’ TO AFFORD GREATER FREEDOMS
- 25. 25 ASPI RE TO CHAME LE ON -LIK E QUALI TI E S VS. HAVI N G TO CHOOSE A ROLE OR A LOOK THAT DE FI NES HE R Anne Curtis, Philippines
- 26. 26 BRANDS ARE APPROACHING THE OPPORTUNITY IN A NUMBER OF WAYS
- 27. 27 E N COURAG I NG WOME N TO STRI VE TO ACHI E VE THE I R DRE AMS
- 28. 28 QUE STI ON I NG LI MI TING DE FI N ITIONS OF WOMAN HOOD, USI N G THE LE N S OF BE AUTY
- 29. 29 STAN DI NG UP AG AI N ST LI MI TING DE FI N ITIONS OF WOME N HOOD, FOCUS ON BE HAVI OURS
- 30. 30 MORE SUBTLE LOOK AT ‘ BE AUTY ’ AS A TOOL FOR E MPOWE RME N T & FRE E DOM
- 31. 31 PRAGMATISM & INNER STRENGTH OPTIMISM & EXCITEMENT STRETCHING BOUNDARIES BY PLAYING ROLES EMBRACING FEMININITY AS POWER
Editor's Notes
- WOMEN? We do a lot of work with them – through lots of different lenses Barometer of social change – at sharp end – see response to change in appearance, lifestyles, attitudes to work, religion, SEA? We work globally and we look at femininity and women across the world, but we want to get you a rich story about a self-contained part of that China is extreme and India again, a topic all of it’s own. Certainly shades of this seen across Asia but SEA has a rich story to tell SOFT POWER? We’re going to talk about the inevitable growth of the economies across SEA, how opportunity has exploded for women, how they’re more connected than ever before Often comes down to a talk about to what extent they are embracing modernity, what makes them modern – is it behaviour/things they do/is it what they own – we feel very strongly that it’s a mindset We’re interested in understanding how women affect change and embrace opportunity and especially in this part of the world, we believe it’s more about a gentler soft power, than a feminist agenda
- There’s been a lot written on the subject of feminine values and how they’re more suited to the modern world; values of collaboration, flexibility and nurturing Athena Doctrine talks about the strength that comes from this mode of leadership New wave of opinion leaders thinking about femininity as a strength, where previously it’s been seen as a weakness; this is all very interesting but we want to understand how this manifests itself specifically in SEA and in the everyday lives of real women
- Feminism has almost become trendy, a sexy topic, that celebrities love to be involved in and brands love to support. No one can criticise you for it (as long as you’re sincere) it’s a no-brainer We don’t really like to make the East vs. West comparison, largely because even that as a way to categorise the world is a gross over-simplification, but to make the point, it’s our belief that ‘female empowerment’ works in a very different way in this part of the world It’s obvious that the cultural context is a different one; more traditions and religious beliefs to navigate through; but beyond that the collective female psyche is different and actually their endgame is also very different, which is something that brands must understand
- At Flamingo we spend a lot of time getting to know people, but speaking to them only gets you so far. We obsess over establishing a rich picture of the cultural context, so that we understand WHY they’re really doing the things they’re doing, what are the big cultural shifts that are and will affect their behaviours in the future. This often means looking back at HISTORY, as well as understanding wider SOCIO-ECONOMIC trends and also the CULTURAL NORMS – it’s the inter-relationship of this areas that’s fascinating and where we can start to build up a rich picture of what’s going on
- In pre-modern SEA women held a very favourable position and were genuinely equal to men So this is not the feminist fight for getting out of the domestic drudgery; in SEA they never had that luxury. Although it very rarely bought them influence within the family or independence – they rarely earned their own money. But these women were multi-tasking and busy working mums before we even knew about the concept in the West
- It was the imported religions and philosophies (Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam) that started to give men privilege over women; then during the years of colonization and then independence this divide grew further Brought with them a sense of male privilege, which led to the development of traditional norms and expectations for women: Their lifestyles Role they played Their perceptual status vs. men Very much about separating the sexes and ensuring there were a clear set of attributes and ideals that differentiated them
- All encompassing definition of beauty & their value to men Appearance and behaviours A set of beliefs that kept women in their place across the region
- Darker side is sexual exploitation – especially for countries occupied in WW2 - sex became currency for women trying to get out of poverty
- Pragmatic women of the region have always used their femininity as currency Today – still cultural expectations to fulfill + explosion of opportunity work in offices for MNCs, to become educated, to make life choices From WE ME, is about internal motivation for doing it – things I want, as well as things I need to do
- Women want to progress, it’s clear they feel on cusp of something & believe in their ambition/potential, but in context of a collective environment they are not ready to forgo societal norms & expectations ambitions need to fit within the collective norms They have enormous respect for gender lines and cultural expectations and so their drive for their own ambition often isn’t a battle, they aren’t raging against the machine or fighting.
- Why beauty is so fascinating – we see these women trying to balance tradition & modernity, playing different roles Beauty brings to life the different nuances of what she’s trying to represent Manipulative? Forced in to it due to male privilege? Unable to follow her own path? No, rather… pragmatic, turning what she is in to a useful currency that provides her with options and that she also enjoys!
- Very consciously constructed roles that give her power Women talk to us about these roles and how they’ll “play” with their looks to facilitate the things they want or need to do. Fulfilling their own desires and satisfying expectation Doting wife, loving mother, pious daughter, sexy femme fatale… Also an audience, always judgment in SEA – need collective approval, self-consciously create different ‘looks’ to help Using beauty as a soft-power; something to manipulate and wield with absolute purpose
- In many instances female progression has overtaken men – ultimate respect for traditional gender roles and need to maintain balance. For women that might work and even have a senior role at work; they’re very often aware of the impact this might have on their husbands. In the West women would almost dare a husband to have a problem with it, but in SEA women are more aware of the importance of traditional expectation and gender balance, therefore they might adopt ‘hyper-feminine’ looks & behaviours at home in order to compensate. Again, this isn’t about male dominance, this is about a woman understanding what she wants and adopting behaviours that facilitate it.
- For Muslim women, they artfully meld both parts of their life; their faith and their desire to progress and be modern Again using their beauty/look as a tool, we hear many instances of women adopting more traditional looks; wearing the hijab, or dressing modestly, in order to gain the freedom to stretch their behaviours further – to travel, to move away from home This shows the world that she’s not completely stepping away from her more traditional belief systems. It allays fears
- Seeing these woman playing so many different roles; they’ll talk about their beauty ideals and the ideals they admire in others as the ability to be ‘chameleon-like’ Maybe it’s a look that can span from simple and traditional, to hyper feminine, to sexy femme fatale – Anne Curtis It’s also celebrities who are known for the different facets of their life/personality – success in their home-life, as well as professionally often in different ways e.g. Angelina Jolie, Victoria Beckham
- We’ve looked at a few different ways that brands are approaching the opportunity; both international and local Some more overtly tackling empowerment, some taking a more subtle approach
- SK2, Pan Asian, ‘Little Dictator’ Part of a global campaign, uses a Japanese ballet star but it’s not necessarily made for Asia or tapping in to a specific Asian-inspired insight around empowerment Launch TVC behind SK-II’s Change Destiny platform, ties in to the product story and part of a global campaign for female empowerment
- Oriental Princess, Thailand More focused on the need for women to resist the pressure to beautify and to be more than the way they look There’s no denying this is an issue, especially in Thailand, but it’s a tough one to crack due to the amount of engagement there is with beauty Also suggestive that women are something forced in to it, when it’s actually more nuanced than that
- Body Shop, Malaysia, ‘More than Beauty’ Feels much more rooted in the specifics of the Asian context, focusing on the traditional image of how a women/girl should behave Clever use of a child makes it obviously more emotive, elevates it to speak about the next generation AND cleverly avoids talking ‘beauty’ – something that as we know, women in the region love – this is not the enemy
- WARDAH (INDONESIA) Plays with expectations Showing her playing different roles Nuanced and presented within an aspirational world of beauty and modernity