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We are conditioned to glorify women for multitasking. This glorification only puts pressure on them to be the 'perfect woman.'
We are conditioned to glorify women for multitasking. This glorification only puts pressure on them to be the ‘perfect woman.’
She is a superwoman, she is a juggler, she is a flower bestowed with femininity, she is fire vested with grit. And she is everything that beautifies!
She is a mother, sister, daughter, wife, aunt, teacher, caretaker and what not!
Multitasking is an ability to do various tasks at a single point of time. Our brains play a major role in multitasking. It is directly linked with productivity as some believe multitasking improves productivity while the rest disagree with it. There is always a debate around it as multitasking can possibly reduce the focus on one particular task.
It is widely believed that women are multitaskers. While it is perceived as praise for women, it is a label to dump more work on women. Various studies have shown results that say women are no different from men when it comes to multitasking.
Media as a powerful weapon has propagated the idea of women being better at multitasking. It is a conscious effort to put the pressure conveniently on women to juggle between various tasks and responsibilities. It is seen as an excuse to expect women to handle various tasks.
Glorifying women for doing chores is mental conditioning. Society puts the pressure on women to live up to the expectations as the perfect woman. Women are denied resting intervals under various circumstances and they are expected to work round the clock without complaining.
Various chores done by women are often unnoticed, unpaid and unaccounted. Gender-based roles are changing largely but women are still expected to do ‘extra work’ and do it all and fulfil the unending family needs.
Multitasking has taken a toll on women’s mental health. They are often pushed to do the work and are made to feel guilty if they are unable to handle it all. It is mere stereotyping that makes us believe that women are good at multitasking. There is little to no data available to support the claims of women being better multitaskers than men.
No human being is born with superpowers. It is continued efforts, prioritising, planning and switching between tasks that make a person good at multitasking. And it is a skill which can be acquired by any human being.
Government and organizations should create policies where gender equality can thrive. Let’s stop praising women as born multitaskers. Bust the myth that women are superheroes and are good at multitasking.
A version of this was published here.
Picture credits: Still from MTR’s ad on YouTube
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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