Masculine women, feminine men | Kiyoka Yahaba | TEDxYouth@Tokyo
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0:16 - 0:20On April 17, 2015,
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0:21 - 0:26I, Kiyoka Yahaba, managed to miss
two hours of maths class -
0:27 - 0:29and not be considered absent.
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0:29 - 0:32You're probably wondering how I did this.
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0:33 - 0:38I was sexually assaulted
on the train that morning. -
0:38 - 0:41Now, by saying that out loud,
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0:41 - 0:44I may have made a few of you
quite uncomfortable. -
0:44 - 0:49Hopefully, my overwhelming positivity
can distract you a little bit. -
0:51 - 0:54I'm not here to tell you
what happened that day, -
0:54 - 0:56or how it made me feel.
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0:56 - 0:59I'm not even here for your sympathy.
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0:59 - 1:05Rather, I'm here to address a bigger issue
that we face in society - sexism: -
1:06 - 1:08behavior, conditions, or attitudes
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1:08 - 1:13that foster stereotypes of social roles
based on a person's gender. -
1:14 - 1:16To talk about sexism,
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1:16 - 1:19I'm going to have to talk
about what happened after my assault. -
1:20 - 1:23I go to a Japanese high school.
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1:23 - 1:26When the news of my assault
was reported to my school, -
1:26 - 1:30the teachers separated the girls
and the boys into separate classrooms. -
1:31 - 1:35The girls were told to line up
at the back of the classroom, -
1:36 - 1:39while three female teachers
assessed everyone's skirt lengths. -
1:40 - 1:44If your skirt was considered "too short,"
they were going to call your parents. -
1:45 - 1:49This may seem like
a military scene from a movie, -
1:49 - 1:53but this is quite a normal situation
at a Japanese high school. -
1:54 - 1:59However, this routine check in particular
was different from the others. -
2:01 - 2:03The teachers sat all the girls down.
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2:04 - 2:09And they told us that us girls should have
more pride in how we portray ourselves. -
2:10 - 2:12"Short skirts were asking for it,"
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2:12 - 2:15"Long skirts showed a sense of integrity."
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2:16 - 2:18They didn't finish there, though.
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2:18 - 2:21They told us that us girls tempt boys.
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2:23 - 2:25Personally, my exposed knees tempting?
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2:25 - 2:27I was flattered; I mean, really?
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2:27 - 2:29I was getting attention?
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2:30 - 2:35But then they said that it was our fault
that sexual assault happens -
2:35 - 2:36because we tempt boys.
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2:38 - 2:41Later that day, I talked
to a guy friend of mine -
2:41 - 2:43who was in the other classroom.
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2:43 - 2:47When I asked him if he was given
the same talk about sexual assault, -
2:47 - 2:49he looked at me
really weird, and he was like, -
2:50 - 2:52"What are you talking about?
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2:52 - 2:55We weren't given that talk at all.
We were told to pull up our pants." -
2:57 - 3:00I am no Rhodes scholar,
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3:00 - 3:06but pulling up pants is not a big issue
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3:06 - 3:07compared to sexual assault.
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3:09 - 3:11I was really confused that day.
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3:12 - 3:16How come the boys weren't given
the same talk as the girls? -
3:16 - 3:19Why were the girls
reprimanded for sexual assault? -
3:20 - 3:26I decided to turn to feminism as a way
to combat the sexism in society. -
3:27 - 3:28By hearing "feminism,"
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3:28 - 3:31some of you might have
like an allergic reaction to it. -
3:31 - 3:35You're probably like, "Oh my god,
she's just another 'man-hating feminist.'" -
3:36 - 3:39Well, if you look
at the foundations of feminism, -
3:39 - 3:42it's quite different than modern feminism.
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3:42 - 3:45An example of that is Mary Wollstonecraft.
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3:45 - 3:49Mary Wollstonecraft was a writer
in the post-French Revolution. -
3:49 - 3:52Her writings on equal rights
for men and women -
3:52 - 3:54are the foundations of modern feminism.
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3:55 - 3:57Mary Wollstonecraft had this idea.
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3:58 - 4:02That if the qualities in men
are more regarded than those of women, -
4:02 - 4:05then why don't women adopt
those qualities for themselves? -
4:06 - 4:12That meant being more assertive,
more academic, and less emotional -
4:12 - 4:15was the results of masculine women.
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4:15 - 4:17The same goes for men.
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4:17 - 4:23Being more caring,
less aggressive, and loving -
4:23 - 4:26was a result of feminine men.
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4:26 - 4:31I decided to incorporate these theories
into my everyday life to combat sexism. -
4:33 - 4:36At the annual dodgeball competition
at my high school, -
4:36 - 4:42I, Kiyoka Yahaba, managed to turn
all my female classmates into gorillas. -
4:43 - 4:45I'm not even joking; here's a photo.
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4:45 - 4:46(Laughter)
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4:47 - 4:50Before each game, I gave
a little pep talk to the girls; -
4:50 - 4:53I huddled them up, I said, "Now listen.
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4:54 - 4:57take your wimpy femininity
and put it at the door. -
4:57 - 4:59Bring out your masculine side."
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5:00 - 5:05I was given the weirdest
expressions of my life. -
5:05 - 5:07They were just like,
"What are you talking about?" -
5:07 - 5:10I decided to restate myself.
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5:10 - 5:13I told them to become gorillas.
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5:13 - 5:16To my surprise,
that seemed to have worked. -
5:16 - 5:21That day, we were amazing;
we beat everybody. -
5:21 - 5:26The boys heard the rise
of the apes, and they came over, -
5:26 - 5:30and you could just see, their facial
expressions were just so funny. -
5:30 - 5:33They look like they were witnessing
this new species. -
5:34 - 5:39We, girls, were strong, fearless,
and definitely masculine. -
5:40 - 5:43Mary Wollstonecraft's idea
on masculine women -
5:43 - 5:48was a far easier task
than her idea on feminine men. -
5:48 - 5:50I had to take a different approach.
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5:50 - 5:55I started small, and I gave
a presentation in my English class -
5:55 - 5:57about the day in the life of a woman,
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5:57 - 6:00highlighting the precautions
women have to face every day -
6:00 - 6:03to make sure that they're not caught
in a bad situation. -
6:03 - 6:06Now, keep in mind,
during this presentation, -
6:06 - 6:10I brought scarves,
cute accessories, hair bands, -
6:10 - 6:13and I dressed the guys up in my class.
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6:14 - 6:18I also brought a skirt
for my English teacher to wear. -
6:18 - 6:20I had him stand in front of everybody
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6:20 - 6:24as I demonstrated the different labels
a woman has to face -
6:24 - 6:26on the length of her skirt.
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6:27 - 6:29I turned all the guys into feminine men.
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6:30 - 6:33I kind of forced a little bit on it,
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6:33 - 6:38but I want everyone to know
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6:38 - 6:42that nobody was hurt
during this experiment, -
6:42 - 6:44so I call that a success.
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6:46 - 6:49But after my presentation,
my English teacher came up to me. -
6:49 - 6:54I thought he was going to say,
"Kiyoka, that was a little bit too much, -
6:54 - 6:56you should have
brought it down a little bit." -
6:56 - 6:58But to my surprise, he thanked me.
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6:58 - 7:02He said it made him think
of how to treat his daughter and his son -
7:02 - 7:04so that they were both viewed as equals.
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7:04 - 7:06So, after hearing that
from my English teacher, -
7:06 - 7:09I had this spark, this fire within me.
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7:09 - 7:12So I went around school,
and I asked some guys -
7:12 - 7:14if they would participate
in my next project, -
7:14 - 7:18which was dressing them up
in cute little hair bands again -
7:18 - 7:20and posing for photos.
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7:20 - 7:23These are just a few of them,
from guys from my class. -
7:23 - 7:26As you can see, they're really cooperative
and really cute about it. -
7:27 - 7:34I realized that when we walk a mile
in the opposite gender's shoes, -
7:34 - 7:38we're able to look at them
with respect and understanding. -
7:38 - 7:44It is only then that we are able to strive
and combat sexism in society. -
7:45 - 7:49If you're a woman,
try being a masculine woman. -
7:49 - 7:52And if you're man,
try being a feminine man. -
7:52 - 7:53Thank you.
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7:53 - 7:55(Applause)
- Title:
- Masculine women, feminine men | Kiyoka Yahaba | TEDxYouth@Tokyo
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
Kiyoka Yahaba takes us through her journey as a feminist in today's society. With her personal experiences with sexism, she shows us how she uses post-French Revolution feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft's ideas on masculine women and feminine men to combat sexism at her high school.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 08:02
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Denise RQ approved English subtitles for Masculine women, feminine men | Kiyoka Yahaba | TEDxYouth@Tokyo | |
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Denise RQ accepted English subtitles for Masculine women, feminine men | Kiyoka Yahaba | TEDxYouth@Tokyo | |
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Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Masculine women, feminine men | Kiyoka Yahaba | TEDxYouth@Tokyo | |
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Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Masculine women, feminine men | Kiyoka Yahaba | TEDxYouth@Tokyo | |
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Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Masculine women, feminine men | Kiyoka Yahaba | TEDxYouth@Tokyo | |
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Riaki Ponist edited English subtitles for Masculine women, feminine men | Kiyoka Yahaba | TEDxYouth@Tokyo |