Why Are Women So Emotional?
Questioner: So, talking about emotions, why are women so emotional and now we’re saying, it’s okay for a man to be emotional. So, there’s an implicit understanding that men are not and women are?
Acharya Prashant: Both are, both are. Just that, both express their emotionality in different ways. So, it’s not really a matter of occurrence of an event, it’s rather matter of the definition of that event.
Inner urges, latent tendencies in women show up in one particular way. Maybe, maybe she will weep. Inner urges, latent tendencies in man show up in a different way, right? Maybe he will, he will fall silent, maybe he will go out and smoke, maybe he will drink a lot but it’s, it’s the same thing at work, the same central tendency being displayed in a feminine way versus a masculine way, right?
So, it’s, it’s no different. You see, these are mechanical processes in our biological system. Why are men so horny? Why are women so emotional? Same thing, just the same thing. Why does the man make advances? Why does the woman feel reluctance. Same thing man, same thing. Part of the same package. You know it requires two to tango that’s why.
Questioner: Yeah, so feminism in that sense will be applicable to men as well?
Acharya Prashant: Obviously, obviously, see the problem is the feminism you are talking of; the usual feminism, always proceeds keeping the man at the center. The woman is saying, “The man is alright and I want to be like the man.” This is such a low standard to set, whereas true feminism would proceed keeping the person that the female is, her real potential at the center.
These are two different things. One is, I am pegging it here, where the man is, I want to be here. I want to be here. The other is I am pegging it here. And what is this? Irrespective of what the man is, this is my true potential as a person. Two hoots to the man, don’t care about the man, let the man be. So, this is true feminism.
If the woman is constantly thinking of the man, whether as a, whether as a suitor or as a competitor, she is still in the shadow of the man.
Questioner: The center remains the same.
Acharya Prashant: The center remains the same.
Are you getting it?
And one of the fallouts would be, the man would feel no need to improve because the man is already at the center.
What we’re saying is, “The man is the benchmark and I need to measure up to him,” in some way. You can contradict me for argument’s sake but please try to get the gist of what I am trying to convey. The fact is, just as the woman must live up to her own potential; and that requires a great degree of understanding effort; similarly, the man is held captive by his own body, just like the woman. And it’s imperative upon the man to live up to his own potential.
Both the genders need correction in equal measures and correction in one would induce correction in the other. In fact, if one remains the way he or she is, the other too.
Questioner: Somebody has to take the initiative.
Acharya Prashant: Somebody has to take the initiative; why not the woman?
Questioner: Even this false feminism, there are two kinds, right? That’s what we, because a lot of people do realize that we peg the man as the center, so then, they jump to the other end and then they peg the woman as the center, and the woman as a body as the center. So, there’s these two kinds of centers....
Acharya Prashant: Yes, yes, yes.
Questioner: So, it’s neither of these. Real feminism is neither of these. It’s raising to your...
Acharya Prashant: Right.
Questioner: To your own...
Acharya Prashant: Your own individual center. Classically, that’s called the true self or Atman. That’s true feminism, true liberation.
