THE LION QUEEN?

Today I read an article that made me think about womanhood and the future of women in many aspects. It is well known that women still have to gain equality in the workplace in terms of opportunities, access to information, power, and pay, and that women are making progress in society to more actively participate in politics and take advantage of educational opportunities. However, we still have a long way to go.

There are many reasons why women have not reached equality with men regarding social standing, educational opportunity, and professional advancement. I will not attempt to explain here the reasons why women have not yet reached equality with men, as the reasons are many and complex, but a lot of it has to do with the way both women and men are socialized, and the gender roles we are programmed to exert. As a little girl I remember my grandmother telling me what I could not do because I was a girl, and it never made sense to me. I could not comprehend why I was not allowed to whistle, and why it was a boy’s thing to do so. I did not comprehend why I was not allowed to climb up trees, and ride a bike (actually never learned to ride), and why I was not allowed to mingle with boys too much, just because I was not supposed to. Did not understand why I could not play with cars and race tracks, even when I was dying to give up my dolls (just for a little while), and get dirty playing with cars in the muddy yard. Did not get why I could not play with marbles on the dirt, and had to play jumping jacks, because that was the girlie game. When I was little, I actually thought that it was very unfair to be a girl, and wanted to be a boy. Boys had so much fun! I could see them riding their bikes on the street, taking their shirts off walking down the street, riding horses, skateboarding, rollerblading, playing sports, fishing, going out unsupervised and ruling the neighborhood. I wanted to do all that! But I could not just because I was a girl. How unfair!

I always questioned my grandparents for not letting me do all the boys’ things, but I never got an answer that was satisfactory, or at least that could give me a rational explanation, as to WHY I was not allowed to do “boys’” things. Some of the socialization stuck with me, but I defied some of the gender roles imposed onto me. I realized later on that I did not want to be a boy, I was actually extremely happy being a girl (still am), but I did not buy that girls should just have girlfriends and play with dolls, and that we should not even talk to boys because they might get the wrong impression and loose respect for us. Even more, I wanted to maximize my potential and be what I wanted to be regardless of the “you can’ts” of my grandmother. And I did. I always invited my male friends to my home, fought with them (physically and verbally) in school, made very good friendships with boys-still standing today-climbed up trees, whistled, played with marbles, and interacted with boys more than my grandmother approved. I was not the typical girlie girl, although I was and still am much of one. I was the girlie girl that could kick a boy’s butt (and who got her butt kicked a few times, but only by Alvin Vidro). I was the girlie girl that presided every club and boards in school, and that grew up to not be afraid or intimidated by the opposite sex. However, gender socialization can have a deep impact on both males and females, especially with a Hispanic background.


I do not have to explain how traditional the Hispanic culture can be. I was socialized with all the restraints that the Hispanic culture can impose on women. I grew up in a society with double standards for men and women that still exist. I still witness gender inequality in a regular basis. I know that both men and women have to be sensitized differently about their perceptions and definitions of gender roles. But ultimately women have to redefine their own roles and step up. I do not want to be a man, do not want to act like one, do not want to look like one. I don’t even want women and men to be the same; we cannot be, not biologically, genetically, physically, mentally, emotionally, and that is right. I just want to have equal time and opportunity, just want to enjoy fairness.

Anyway, back to the thing I read today, an article about the Disney movie The Lion King, and some of the things the movie depicts. Here is a summary of the movie: the lion king is killed, and his son (the successor) goes out into hiding in the jungle, so in the absence of the legitimate successor, the king’s brother assumes power. Everything turns chaotic in the kingdom. The late king’s widow is forced to be kind of a slave to the new king, along with the other lionesses that are forced to hunt for the king. This other lioness that was contemporary with the successor and also his friend, ventures out of the kingdom to find the son of the late king, who is in the hiding. She finds him and urges him to go back, dethrone the king, and assume the place that was meant for him. He does, and after killing the king, he assumes the power and the kingdom’s balance is reestablished. My question: Why instead of venturing out of the kingdom with the sole purpose of finding Simba, and once she finds him, urging Simba (the late king’s son) to fight for his place as king, Nala (Simba’s friend) does not stand up to the bad king and assumes power herself? I guess the simple answer is because then the title of the movie would have been The Lion Queen, right? The portrayal of the whole situation in the movie supports the notion that males rule and females support and obey. I do not want to think that women have to do that, but I know that gender socialization is powerful. Gender equality should not be a fight for power, though. It should be a journey for women to reach their maximum potential. We can be queens, men can be kings, and we can both rule. But we do not need a king to bring us to power: we can get there ourselves and rule the kingdom successfully.