In this blog post, I would like to think together about the various roles and values of modern women in a changing society.
Women have always had relatively little social influence compared to men, and their rights have also been less than men’s. However, as industrialization progressed and the two world wars left a shortage of young men to fill the labor force, women began to play a more prominent role in society. Nevertheless, women’s rights were still much more restricted than those of men.
In the 20th century, the invention of the birth control pill greatly improved the status of women. The most important change that the birth control pill brought to women was that it increased their independence in terms of their personal performance and childbirth. Margaret Sanger argued that “contraception that leads to freedom of sexual life and birth control is a prerequisite for women’s liberation and human development,” and Oxford Professor Colin Blackmore explained that “the birth control pill has changed the traditional family structure and has changed the history of mankind by raising the status of women.” With the development of birth control pills, women gained the right to decide whether or not to get pregnant and give birth, which allowed them to pursue their ambitions. As the shackles of childbirth were lifted, women’s participation in society increased and their social status improved.
To understand the status of women in Korea, let’s look at the social atmosphere of the Joseon Dynasty. The Joseon Dynasty was a male-centered patriarchal society influenced by Confucianism. The status of women in the family system was greatly diminished by the cultural values unique to Confucianism, which consequently relegated women to a lower position than men and limited their range of activities to the home. In this way, women served men in the family and fulfilled their roles as daughters, wives, and mothers, depending on men. Women who lived by conforming to these roles were considered “lucky.” However, after liberation, industrialization and urbanization rapidly progressed in Korean society, and changes in family structures and values occurred. As a result, the position of Korean women also changed a lot. Women gradually took on more roles in society by expanding their educational and occupational opportunities. This change has required not only an increase in professional roles but also a change in social perception. While modern women are trying to play the roles required by a changing society, it is true that social perception is still insufficient to put them on an equal footing with men. Due to the persistence of this patriarchy, the social status of women in Korea is lower than in other countries.
One of the clearest examples of the difference in status between men and women is premarital chastity. When people hear the word “premarital chastity,” they generally think of women’s chastity, not men’s. The very word “premarital chastity” contains a certain degree of gender discrimination. In the case of Korea, which was influenced by Confucianism during the Joseon Dynasty, there is a stronger obsession with premarital chastity than in other countries. Since before the Joseon Dynasty, there was a strong social perception that women should maintain their chastity or integrity, and this was exacerbated during the Joseon Dynasty, when the “adoration of female chastity” reached its peak.
However, unlike the past during the Joseon Dynasty or even just a few years ago, the world has changed a lot these days. With the influx of open sexual values and the improvement of women’s economic and social status, women are no longer subordinate to men. Nowadays, there are many women with social influence that surpass men, and many women choose to live alone without men. Also, thanks to the influence of birth control pills and various contraceptive devices, women no longer need to fear pregnancy after having sex with men. In the past, women were subordinate to men because of the burden of pregnancy after sex, but now women are able to maintain their social lives more freely and enjoy the pleasure of sex in an equal relationship with men. As a result of these changes, the status of women is improving, and the number of people who insist on premarital virginity is decreasing.
Of course, I am not saying that people who value virginity before marriage are stupid. This is because we cannot ignore decisions based on religious beliefs or personal beliefs. However, we cannot say that those who oppose virginity before marriage are sexually promiscuous. In modern society, as individual freedom is valued and gender equality is approaching, virginity before marriage has moved from being a duty to an area of personal choice. Women are now more independent in their sexuality. In modern society, where there is a high degree of freedom in sex, unethical issues such as promiscuous sex that only values pleasure, the destruction of the family that results from it, and abortion should be condemned. However, as women’s status and sexual freedom have increased, it should be left up to individuals to use them wisely.
In modern society, as the open perception of sex is gradually spreading, the status and roles of men and women are being reevaluated. This reassessment is contributing to women having more choices and freedom from the traditional norms of gender roles. At the same time, various legal and institutional mechanisms for improving women’s rights are being strengthened in each country, and an era is dawning in which women themselves are leading their lives independently.
