About
Since the dawn of human civilisation, equality has remained an ideal that we have strived to work towards but never attained. Communities are divided by class differences, race differences and most fundamentally gender differences. Being male or female is something we regard as a prominent part of our identity, an essence within us that we cannot escape. However, this essence is not for us alone. Men and women co-exist as one human race yet at the same time men and women exist in separate spheres as the male and female race. How do we achieve a balance?
So, why is it that men and women, the union making up the basic unit of communities, have not been able to co-exist peacefully? Is modern civilisation truly egalitarian? Are the roles of men and women predetermined by biological differences or does social conditioning play a larger role? Our team has dug into the deepest corners and has peeled off the different layers of our human existence to strive to answer these questions.
Therefore, our group is called Yinyang. This is derived from the Taoist symbol, one which is made up of the two dark and light forces yin and yang swirled into one full circle. These two forces are opposite and complementary to each other, combining to form a unity of opposites, a harmonious and balanced state. The yin force is passive, dark and feminine while the yang force is active, light and masculine.
This symbol does not depict the yin and yang forces in clean-cut semi-circles because there is never absolute equilibrium between the two forces. We feel that this symbol greatly and aptly represents the age-old struggle our group is trying to bring out. Also, through the study of this struggle between men and women, we would like to strive to find that desired harmonious equilibrium or perhaps inspire our readers to search for balance as well.