Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15262680
The above-posted article discusses the practice of some Afghani families disguising their daughters as male—a practice referred to as Bacha Posh. Raising Bacha Posh boys comes from the social and economic privileges a family receives by having boys. Often a family who has all girls will be viewed as weak, dishonored, and without prestige. This paradigm further marginalizes women within their culture because having a daughter is often seen as less worthy than a son. As Eisenstein mentions “The fear [of the other] is not just of desire but of one’s lacking, one’s incompleteness” (29). This can is related to the Bacha Posh tradition because families that lack a son fear being seen as the “other” in society, meaning families with sons have more power—an heir to protect the family—and therefore fit into the social construct of a “normal Afghani family box”. Those that fall outside this social construct do all they can—i.e. raise their daughters as sons—in order to fit into the construct.
What implications does this practice have on the Bacha Posh son? One way to look at it is that it gives her more opportunity in life because she has the same opportunity has her biologically male counterparts. Though once the woman matures, she reverts back to a woman… therefore, her female identity may be compromised as a result.
In an environment where an individual is raised and coerced into believing that she is not normal or accepted by her family or society, those teachings are extremely damaging to self esteem and to one's identity. If these women could transition into "new" identities as females, how could they do so smoothly? The emotional, psychological, and social challenges would be overwhelming--especially when they have been taught that being a female is a burden. David Reimer and his brother are primary examples of what can go wrong with the oppression of identity for those being hindered, and for those who are involved and also duped in the process. Though, it is also interesting to think about the opportunities that might then be available to a female if she pretends to be a male while she is growing up...
ReplyDeleteThis Afghan tradition should be looked at from different perspectives in order to try to understand its complexity. Some of the analysis can come from gender studies, but also from anthropology, sociology and history. The tradition, or even sometimes the need, of dressing boys as girls and girls as boys is not unique to Afghanistan or to this decade. In Europe there was a time when women had to dress up and act as men in order to be able to publish, participate in politics and be heard. In Guatemala, many boys were dressed as girls to avoid being taken to forcefully serve in the army’s paramilitary section. Like in Afghanistan, some women dress differently or “manly” to be safer in the streets or at work in their countries. Sometimes it is important to look at the similarities between cultures or traditions to avoid essentialisms, or even thinking of the “other” as an “exotic other”.
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