By: Amanda Han
We just finished having one of the most eye-opening discussions I’ve had in a long time. Before I narrate what it was about, I’ll first share a little anecdote. Yesterday, we watched a film, “Summer Pastures,” that documented the daily lives of a nomadic couple with their baby girl on the Tibetan plateau. The documentary provided an insider’s look into the couple’s strenuous work, and their ability to survive the harsh climate. The husband and wife were very candid with their daily routine and personal information, allowing us to have some insight on Tibetan nomadic culture.
The film frequently displayed the wife arduously working: milking the livestock, making butter, and drying out the yak dung with her bare hands. On the other hand, the husband was making deals in town, herding the yaks, and putting ointment on his face. Between the two, there was a clear division of labor, with an uneven distribution. The wife repeatedly told how there was always work to do and that she barely had enough time to hold her baby girl. In the meantime, her husband was found playing games with his friends.
This brings us to today’s discussion. We started off talking about our opinions of the movie and how good it was overall at providing insight, in comparison to a previous film we had seen. Later on, Tsering Drolma, our education coordinator, asked if we had an opinion on the gender roles in the movie. After a slight pause, Sam White, our program director, declared her ideas on how uneven the labor distribution was. That really got me thinking.
We continued to listen to stories about Tsering Drolma’s own experiences with feminism, including a time where she and a few other classmates published stories about their unjust incidents, and the negative backlash from the community after doing so. The question then became, “How can one introduce new gender roles without having poor consequences?”
The answer, in my opinion, is communication. We need to communicate, especially as outsiders, to fully understand the issue at hand. Without understanding, there is no empathy, there is no compassion, to guide us towards the best solution for the community. We need to eliminate “savior complexes” to expel any ideas of superiority. In terms of feminism among Tibetans, we should first understand Tibetan culture and traditions to determine what should be done, and if we, as outsiders should even do anything. While I have not formulated a strong opinion about this topic yet, the discussion itself allowed me to better understand communication across cultures.
We just finished having one of the most eye-opening discussions I’ve had in a long time. Before I narrate what it was about, I’ll first share a little anecdote. Yesterday, we watched a film, “Summer Pastures,” that documented the daily lives of a nomadic couple with their baby girl on the Tibetan plateau. The documentary provided an insider’s look into the couple’s strenuous work, and their ability to survive the harsh climate. The husband and wife were very candid with their daily routine and personal information, allowing us to have some insight on Tibetan nomadic culture.
The film frequently displayed the wife arduously working: milking the livestock, making butter, and drying out the yak dung with her bare hands. On the other hand, the husband was making deals in town, herding the yaks, and putting ointment on his face. Between the two, there was a clear division of labor, with an uneven distribution. The wife repeatedly told how there was always work to do and that she barely had enough time to hold her baby girl. In the meantime, her husband was found playing games with his friends.
This brings us to today’s discussion. We started off talking about our opinions of the movie and how good it was overall at providing insight, in comparison to a previous film we had seen. Later on, Tsering Drolma, our education coordinator, asked if we had an opinion on the gender roles in the movie. After a slight pause, Sam White, our program director, declared her ideas on how uneven the labor distribution was. That really got me thinking.
We continued to listen to stories about Tsering Drolma’s own experiences with feminism, including a time where she and a few other classmates published stories about their unjust incidents, and the negative backlash from the community after doing so. The question then became, “How can one introduce new gender roles without having poor consequences?”
The answer, in my opinion, is communication. We need to communicate, especially as outsiders, to fully understand the issue at hand. Without understanding, there is no empathy, there is no compassion, to guide us towards the best solution for the community. We need to eliminate “savior complexes” to expel any ideas of superiority. In terms of feminism among Tibetans, we should first understand Tibetan culture and traditions to determine what should be done, and if we, as outsiders should even do anything. While I have not formulated a strong opinion about this topic yet, the discussion itself allowed me to better understand communication across cultures.