Video: Women VS Men – Animation by Bruno Bozzetto

In a nutshell, this video introduces to us the gender stereotypes as perceived by society between men and women, specifically how the same types of activities are undertaken differently by the different sexes.

The various portrayals of men and women in the video stems from the perceived notions of the way people should play their gender role in society, with women in general being the weaker sex. The fact that we do not question the video, and even laugh at the video at times (for example, when the male is portrayed to be ‘forthcoming’ and ‘direct’ in their ways of courtship), shows that these gender differences are something that we are accustomed to and expect to happen. Such indifference probably arises either from the fact that we ourselves engage in such activities the same way as shown in the video, or because we notice, or hear of, such differences happening in our everyday lives. Yet, we laugh at the “funny” parts of the video which accentuates these differences which go by subtly in our lives because we are suddenly caught in realization of such strong differences between men and women.

For example, women usually spend more time in a particular shop looking at all the goods on sale in comparison to the male, and women usually have more items including makeup kits, hairbrushes etcetera in their handbags compared to men. As such, this video may seem to be a rather accurate representation of what happens in society, in terms of the specific and definite ways which women and men conduct themselves differently.

Although such differences may not necessarily be negative ones, they may stem from gender differences. For example, women generally spend more time dolling themselves up while men do not need to do so because it is widely perceived as necessary for women to look elegant in public for one to have a good impression of her. Also, traditionally, the role of women in society is to be in charge of domestic matters such as serving her husband, looking after the children and doing household chores like the cleaning of the house, cooking, etc. This is because men are generally seen to be able to handle tough and more ‘superior’ business affairs more capably than women, who are seen to be more suited for the ‘inferior’ domestic affairs.

As such, typical characteristics of women can be seen from this video, that they are submissive and subservient to men while being weak in many other aspects as well. For instance, as portrayed in the film, men are able to go on a more effective diet as compared to women, and the former is able to hold back his emotions as compared to the latter after watching a romantic movie. Also, during *ahem* seduction, women are portrayed to be the ones who are taken advantage of, rather than men.

Yet, the video is becoming an increasingly farcical depiction of the gender stereotype that exists in the present society. This social product of activity is neither static nor perpetual, and hence changes with the time and social ideology changes. In the past, such gender differences would seem more appropriate and more in tune with society. However, this portrayal is not an accurate representation of women of the current society. Women of the 21^st century are in fact less conservative about defying the female stereotype, and outstanding females like Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Ho Ching are definitely testimonies to such a notion. Females are increasingly entering what were previously men’s domains such as politics and commerce. While actions like how women speak, their need to dress up, their reactions when watching a romantic movie may not have changed, there is an increasing trend in women going on business trips, and an increasing number of househusbands who take care of the domestic duties while women go out to work.

Additionally, unlike that depicted in the film whereby men hope to marry women who are able to carry out domestic duties, men of the present society may tend to marry those they love, regardless of their ability to carry out domestic duties. This is perhaps due to a more open-minded mindset of our generation, such that the aforementioned factor has dropped in terms priority when choosing their ideal partner. Also, an interesting point in the video is how women expect the ‘ideal’ men to share their burden and do the household chores as well. However, this notion is not true vice versa. This might hint to viewers as to how women are not the most content doing these domestic duties and would rather have their partners lend them a helping hand, or perhaps, it might be that women feel that they are would rather, and are capable doing something ‘tougher’ that are usually associated with men e.g. business-related jobs.

Vionna, Sabrina, Ivan, Nicholas, Eugene
09S07A