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I cannot count in a century how many times I have been propositioned inappropriately by men over my past 34 years. It is percieved as apart of our culture now that anyone who is above the age of 12 is a slut. It isn't true, but people see it as being true just because the media portrays it as true. Ethnic relations with women in particular do not help. Cultures with gender bias will always have gender bias. I had an opportunity to work in Dubai as an RRT, until they found out I was a woman... then all offers were rejected. As a woman I could be a nurse and nothing more. I have had a Pakistani dentist tell me that because I was a woman I did not know how to properly brush my teeth, and that is why I suffer from TMJ... That the real cause of my TMJ happened to be a car accident that nearly killed me was thrown out the window. This same doc thought it was funny to tell dirty jokes with his hands in my mouth... It wasn't too long before I found another dentist.

In cases like those, I believe it is more cultural ideals that make men treat women in negative manners. Latino men are no better in certain areas, and niether are Asian men or European/American men... If you are brought up in a culture that makes women a slur upon society, a weaker vessel that is only fit for propigation of the species, a stupid and unlearnable creation that only responds to rough handling, then chances are you are going to act that way...

We can make stereotypes from any culture.

Asians are trustworthy, smart, healthy individuals...

Mexicans are lazy and rude

African Americans are too weak to help themselves

The Native Americans are lazy and wish to live off the State welfare system

Middle Eastern Men have no respect for women...

One or two examples of the above statements do not make them 100% true all the time. A culture is what you, the individual, make it out to be. Cultures can be changed as long as people take the initiative to stand up and say there is something wrong with our current mode of operations. Change can be made without harming the religious social balance that holds nations and people together as a cohesive unity.

Think about this for a moment... at one point of time a geisha was a courtisan. She was payed for her favors. The higher class a geisha was, the more her fees were. It was more or less a caste of prostitution.

Today, the geisha is considered an artesan of historical and social graces. They do not sell their favors, but rather their time and accomplishments. There is a strict hands off policy when interacting with this culture of feminine beauty and grace, but that would not be true if there were not a few who said "we can do better than this".

I believe I heard the other day that men in China outnumber women 7 to 1. Why? Well, besides the government enforcement of the 1 child laws, male children are considered more valuable than women since they can provide for their parents and grand parents in ways that a girl child could not. Many girl children are aborted once it becomes known that they are female. This is due to the historical dishonor women have traditionally held within all strata of Chinese society. It is very close to gender assassination/genocide. It will continue until someone stands up and finds fault in the system from within the Chinse culture. Declaring it unfair and unjust from the sidelines does not do as much good as someone from within the playing field declaring the same thing.

So I guess what I am trying to say is this...

Stop with the stereotypes.
Stop with the racism.
If you feel like something is unfair or that you are being unfairly treated due to your skin color or culture, stand up and say so. Stand up and change the situation for the better instead of hiding out and moaning about life being unfair.

This pickled vegetable...

Revisionist history has done wonders...
geishas were at one time the concubines. They were high class prostitues. You can dress it up however you want, but it doesn't change facts. They were ladies of nobility who found themselves unprotected by marriage or family, and they did sell themselves to provide for themselves. They have preserved the culture of Japan, but it doesn't change where they started from, just as it doesn't change the fact that one of the ancestresses of Jesus was also an prostitute.

Most of the people he healed were prostitutes.

Actually, the story is way back in the lineage during Joshua's time... but yes, Jesus did have a woman who may have been a prostitute as a foremother. Rahab's profession is up for debate in the scholarly community. There is also evidence of two different Rahabs one who was the ancestor of Joseph, and one who was the ancestor of Mary, from roughly the same time genealogical time period. Thus either way, the Rahab of Jericho, who is said to be a prostitute has a place in the family history of Jesus.

As for Geishas, the term originally was used for male entertainers (actors and artists). The forerunners of what we now recognize as a geisha now were courtesans who in later times did incorporate sexual services into their repitiore, but that was not what the geishas were known for. They were not paid for sex, their business was knowledge, grace, eloquence, and entertainment. As escorts they were paid to be a decoration to the elite men, but there was a separate class of women whose purpose was to pleasure the men. In fact, a woman who was not licensed as a "prostitute" who was found selling services was severely punished, and so was the place she worked for. The Oiran, who did ply acting talent and sex would have to licensed to sell sexual services. I would go so far to suggest that the derogatory connotation of the word "whore" or "prostitute" would not apply in either case, because the women who entered such a profession of their own accord were highly regarded.

It wasn't until the mid 1700's that the term Geisha was adopted by some women. Yes there were prostitutes among them, but they were more famous for their cultured intelligence and their timeless beauty. Modern portrayals in movies and television have glorified the scandalous exceptions and tainted the role of these women ( how surprising is that?).

Which brings me back to the topic... I think a major factor contributing to the racism/stereotype problems we still have today is in the media. They market it, and society is willing to keep paying for it. We (as a whole, not every individual mind you) allow the media to tell us what we are supposed to look like, what we are supposed to act like, what we should eat/drink, how we are supposed to sound. We have a channel for every ethnicity, subculture, and gender, and many people take what is being pumped through the TV and magazines to them as what they must do to be "IN". Nothing is based off of intelligent decision making anymore, it is about conforming to the hive-mind....

Well yes, I was agreeing with you, although to call their niche sacred would be over-glorifying it a bit. LOL

Anyway, the Geishas are kind of like the feudal version of modern day celebrities. The were renowned for their artistic talents, acting and dancing skills, and ability to shine in intellectual conversation. People gossiped about what they saw the Geishas doing, and those who associated with them would profit off of her popularity by proxy.

Well, they weren't as famous as what celebs are now solely on the count that there was no instant media transmitting there faces across the country.

I believe that in the early 1900's, when Western culture began to influence Asia so much, there was a change in the way people percieved the Geisha. She was always supposed to be a mysterious figure, but it wasn't a shameful secrecy sort of thing until the Western ideology of sex being immoral and the Westerners' misconceptions of the geisha's role came into play.

I think pretty much everyone here believes that Judaism is a culture and religon. But that is pretty harsh! I wonder why they are like that. Maybe to keep the women ignorant so that way they can not have some of the mens' power?