1. WOME N I N SE A: T H E R I S E O F S O F T P O WE R 2 5 M a r c h 2 0 1 5 2. WOMEN? SOUTH EAST ASIA? SOFT POWER? 3. IN TH E MODE R N WOR LD FE MIN IN E VA LU E S A RE IN TH EIR A SCEN DENCY 4. 5 WE LOOK AT THE SURROUN DI N G CULTURAL CON TE XT TO UN DE RSTAN D THE N ATURE OF CHAN G E AN D HOW I T WI LL E VOLVE HISTORIC LEGACY SOCIO- ECONOMICS CULTURAL NORMS 5. 6 HI STORI CALLY WOME N I N SE A HE LD A FAVOURABLE POSI TI ON KEY ROLE IN INDIGENOUS RITUALS EQUAL ACCESS TO WORK OUTSIDE OF THE HOME EQUAL LEGAL STATUS 6. 7 I MPORTE D PHI LOSOPHIES AND RE LI G I ONS CHAN G E D THE STATUS OF SE A WOME N 7. 8 In order to live up to the ideology of Flower of the Nation, women had to make themselves beautiful, sweet and docile so as to make men happy and help them perform their duty as the Fence of the Nation -Womens Studies, Power, Knowledge, Justice; Suwan Sath WOME N DE FI N ED BY AN ALL E NCOMPASSI NG DE FI NITION OF BE AUTI FUL 8. 9 THE DARK E R SI DE OF THI S LE D TO THE SE XUALI SATI ON OF BE AUTY 9. Southeast Asia has had a long tradition of displaying and evaluating female beauty. Possession of beauty has long been evidence of legitimate power. Even in contemporary times, politicians are often admired for their beauty rather than judgment Penny Van Esterik, Anthropologist BEAUTY BECAME WHAT WOULD DEFINE HER SUCCESS IN THE WORLD; A ROUTE TO FINDING & KEEPING A HUSBAND, SECURING EMPLOYMENT 10. 11 WE ME THE RE S BE E N AN I MPORTANT I NTERNAL SHI FT I N WOME NS RE LATI ONSHIP WI TH THI S PHI LOSOPHY 11. 12 I N THE MAI N I T S MORE A COLLE CTI VE STRE TCHI NG OF BOUN DARI E S Vs. TOTAL RE ASSE SSME N T 12. Even in the media, Asian women continue to be portrayed in massively culturally stereotypical ways. Shes either good or bad; often reflected in physical characteristics shes a good mother or a business woman, shes an exotic prostitute or shes a gentle flower needing protection from the men in her life Women are no longer just one or the other, but society especially media, has not yet caught up to this reality - Elizabeth Chan, actress & social commentator 13. 14 BEAUTY REPRESENTS THE COMPLEXITY, TENSIONS AND THE NUANCES THE PUBLIC FACE OF THE DIFFERENT ROLES 14. 15 CA REFULLY CON STRUCTED MODES OF FEMIN IN ITY , BECOME A SOFT P OWER TO MANIP ULATE AND WIELD WITH A BSOLUTE P URP OSE 15. 16 P LAY I NG UP HY P E R-FE MI NINE TO MAI NTAIN GE NDE R BALANCE 16. 17 PLAYING UP THE TRADITIONAL TO AFFORD GREATER FREEDOMS 17. 18 ASPI RE TO CHAME LE ON -LIK E QUALI TI E S VS. HAVI N G TO CHOOSE A ROLE OR A LOOK THAT DE FI NES HE R Anne Curtis, Philippines 18. 19 BRANDS ARE APPROACHING THE OPPORTUNITY IN A NUMBER OF WAYS 19. 20 E N COURAG I NG WOME N TO STRI VE TO ACHI E VE THE I R DRE AMS 20. 21 QUE STI ON I NG LI MI TING DE FI N ITIONS OF WOMAN HOOD, USI N G THE LE N S OF BE AUTY 21. 22 STAN DI NG UP AG AI N ST LI MI TING DE FI N ITIONS OF WOME N HOOD, FOCUS ON BE HAVI OURS 22. 23 MORE SUBTLE LOOK AT BE AUTY AS A TOOL FOR E MPOWE RME N T & FRE E DOM 23. 24 PRAGMATISM & INNER STRENGTH OPTIMISM & EXCITEMENT STRETCHING BOUNDARIES BY PLAYING ROLES EMBRACING FEMININITY AS POWER 24. 25 THANKS AND QUESTIONS 25. Emma runs Flamingos Singapore office and has worked in the region for the last 5yrs. Originally from the UK, Emma has 17yrs experience in strategic planning & brand consultancy. She was previously Head of Planning at Naked London, where she was involved in brand development projects for companies such as Kraft, Vodafone and Johnson & Johnson Emma has a special interest in helping brands define and activate their core brand equities, as well as exploratory projects that feed in to product & brand development. She currently leads multi- market projects for companies such as Kraft, LOreal & Wrigley, as well as driving new business Please contact Emma with any questions emma.gage@flamingogroup.com E M M A G A G E M A N A G I N G D I R E C T O R , F L A M I N G O S I N G A P O R E