The economic incentive of oppression

I’m always humbled by the insights I get from readers, like this one from L Shepherd on my post about black markers and censorship here in Saudi.

By blocking out a woman in a swimsuit on a product box, they are reminding women that they are being watched and that they are not free. By banning images of a man kissing a woman but not a man hitting a woman, a very powerful message is being sent to women in the kingdom- one far more powerful than to simply stay modest.

Wow!

There’s been a lot written over the years about the way women are portrayed in America, and how those portrayals negatively impact women and girls, especially in the area of weight and self esteem. Most folks claim it comes down to economics. The diet industry, for example, hauls in an estimated 40 to 100 million USD each year by showing us images of super-skinny women, and then telling us that’s how we should want to look as well. Talk about economic incentive!

But that’s there, what about here?

Is there an economic incentive to portraying women as invisible – after all, images of men are both plentiful and, for the most part, unaltered? What about sending the message that they are victims of anger rather than benefactors of love? Vulnerable rather than powerful?

I know, I know. People will say these are matters of modesty and privacy and pious decorum – most definitely not money. But are they?

Isn’t there at least some economic incentive in telling women to feel inferior and submissive, less competent, second-class and even vulnerable in Saudi culture?

Heck yes!

A woman who has been told she is inferior and should be submissive won’t upset the apple cart. She knows her place: it’s not in the boardroom or the bank where the money is, it’s in the bedroom.

A woman who has been told she is less competent won’t compete with men for high-paying and influential jobs, careers, appointment or positions.

A woman who has been told she’s a second-class citizen won’t balk when all the rules favor men and not her. She doesn’t count anyway, right? So, if a man in authority tells her she can’t do something or be something or have something because she isn’t a man, she accepts it – no questions asked.

And a woman who has been made to feel vulnerable – in her home, her marriage, her legal rights, her personal freedoms and even her very existence – will cower when confronted by archaic and misogynistic rules rather than rebel or take a stand against them.

Is there economic incentive in keeping the women of Saudi Arabia down?

You bet your boots there is!

(BTW I'm out of town for a few days since it's a long weekend here, so won't be responding to comments. I'll catch up when I get back!)