Another Gender Issue that Needs an Immediate Solution. Women groping - Essay Example

In Sharon Moshavi’s essay titled, “Groped,” the author recounts her experience when a man who looked decent groped her on the street. Unlike some Japanese women who would stay mum about the issue, Moshavi beat the man as much as she liked. The issue of groping implies gender issues which ultimately challenge authorities to do their share in resolving the problem. Moshavi’s account of the groping experience can be considered an unusual act in Japan. Beating the man who violated her may be heroic to some, and very few women in Japan can do the same thing.

Being subject to groping when walking on the streets alone is a gender issue that can be traced in the history and culture of a particular country. Specifically, Moshavi confesses that “in Japan, I don’t have much opportunity to get angry. People just don’t do it. Yelling and anger are considered immature” (in Rutledge 17). By not expressing anger, women could be misinterpreted by men. Men do not feel afraid to grope women, thinking that the latter will stay calm about it. On the one hand, the culture of the people can be a significant factor to the problem.

Being afraid of the groper is an act that could tolerate the offender because he will not think of the circumstance that would eventually happen. Moreover, as Moshavi mentions, “I’ve been pawed and pinched from India to Indonesia” (in Rutledge 16) It should be noted that the countries she mentions, including Japan are all located in Asia. This implies a possibility that the incidence of groping could be related to the Asian culture because expressing anger and being furious is not common among Asians, whereas in the US expressing anger is a part of daily life.

Addressing the groping problem in Japan, authorities claim that having commuter trains for women is not the solution to the problem. In Paul Jackson’s article which appeared in The Daily Yomiuri Tokyo, an authority claims that “the communication gap between the sexes” (Jackson, “Women Only: Are train carriages for females an effective solution or effective PR?”) may be part of the frivolous behavior of Japanese men. Japanese men may see their anonymity in commuter trains as an opportunity to get free from the rigid, traditional roles they play in society.

Considering this, the problem really points to a cultural issue. Ultimately, the current issue reflects a more serious gender problem for Asian women than for American or other women in the West. Nevertheless, one needs to establish the statistics to prove this point. On the other hand, the problem of groping may not just be a cultural issue. It may imply the current situation of women in media, school, and society in general. Jackson quotes Sanae Tanaka, a lawyer, saying that the increase in the violence against women may be due to the commonality of the issue in social places such as commuter trains.

“It has become far more normal to hear people talking about sex and sexual harassment” (Jackson, “Women Only: Are train carriages for females an effective solution or effective PR?”). People, particularly those in Japan, are getting used to discussing about sex in public places. Likewise, there are men who bring pornographic materials in trains. This observation is not limited to Japan. In fact, many magazines from the West may be considered as pornographic materials easily available worldwide in supermarkets and coffee shops.

With this consideration, the problem of groping may be considered a global gender problem. It makes one wonder how come women in magazines are recruited to pose in sexy pictorials if they