台灣人很保守嗎? Are Taiwanese Conservative?
Taiwan, a self-conflicting nation where children walk along streets viewing half naked models on fashion billboards but go home to study for tests on traditional ethics; where different political parties organize rallies for nation-state legitimacy but leave local ethnic arts suffocating under the government’s impetus for globalization. In the midst of the 21st century, Taiwan seems to have the potential to become an open society but is constantly pulled back by conservative values.
To begin with, Taiwanese students may seem to lead an affluent life that promises the liberty to choose their own future. However, instead of being given the space to explore their interests, high school students are arbitrarily assigned to groups devoted to the exclusive study of the sciences or the liberal arts, thus greatly limiting their intellectual development. Moreover, the most popular majors for each year’s Join College Entrance Exam are always the ones long labeled as having promising futures, such as law, business management, etc. It seems that conservative values and stereotypes continue to constrain the student’s potential to explore broader possibilities.
In another social arena, feminism in Taiwan may seem to have gained some ground, but many women are still dependent on men financially--although they do have the ability to be independent. Relying upon the legitimation by traditional gender roles, these women take advantage of patriarchal support but still call out for gender equality. Further more, statistics has shown that the age of sexually active Taiwanese females has dropped to the mid-teens, but sex is still considered a taboo in Taiwan. Even discussions or debates on the subject are considered filthy and shameful.
Regarding Taiwan’s long history of cultural clashes between east and west, and its newly gained liberty of a democratic environment, the nation should been open for a wide range of possibilities. However, the influence of conservative values is so deeply rooted in the culture that people hesitate when progressive acts run against themoral bindings of tradition, and they end up with one foot resting in the comfort of the past, and the other impetuously feeling for the future. We need to reflect upon this contradiction so that we can jump out of the self-restricting pit hole of the past, and truly allow ourselves to step forward in becoming an open and progressive nation.
Taiwan, a self-conflicting nation where children walk along streets viewing half naked models on fashion billboards but go home to study for tests on traditional ethics; where different political parties organize rallies for nation-state legitimacy but leave local ethnic arts suffocating under the government’s impetus for globalization. In the midst of the 21st century, Taiwan seems to have the potential to become an open society but is constantly pulled back by conservative values.
To begin with, Taiwanese students may seem to lead an affluent life that promises the liberty to choose their own future. However, instead of being given the space to explore their interests, high school students are arbitrarily assigned to groups devoted to the exclusive study of the sciences or the liberal arts, thus greatly limiting their intellectual development. Moreover, the most popular majors for each year’s Join College Entrance Exam are always the ones long labeled as having promising futures, such as law, business management, etc. It seems that conservative values and stereotypes continue to constrain the student’s potential to explore broader possibilities.
In another social arena, feminism in Taiwan may seem to have gained some ground, but many women are still dependent on men financially--although they do have the ability to be independent. Relying upon the legitimation by traditional gender roles, these women take advantage of patriarchal support but still call out for gender equality. Further more, statistics has shown that the age of sexually active Taiwanese females has dropped to the mid-teens, but sex is still considered a taboo in Taiwan. Even discussions or debates on the subject are considered filthy and shameful.
Regarding Taiwan’s long history of cultural clashes between east and west, and its newly gained liberty of a democratic environment, the nation should been open for a wide range of possibilities. However, the influence of conservative values is so deeply rooted in the culture that people hesitate when progressive acts run against themoral bindings of tradition, and they end up with one foot resting in the comfort of the past, and the other impetuously feeling for the future. We need to reflect upon this contradiction so that we can jump out of the self-restricting pit hole of the past, and truly allow ourselves to step forward in becoming an open and progressive nation.