Historical Influence

In response to Jaden’s question “Are there any other stories from other religions (though Christianity/Catholicism is most likely predominant in Western society) that could influence the image of woman in such a way?”, Buddhism is male-dominated and women are certainly portrayed as the “other”. For example, when males present food or clothing offerings, they can hand it directly to the monk. Whereas for women, they are required to place the items on the monk’s offering cloth to avoid direct physical contact. Women are not allowed to have physical contact with monks, as this is seen as crossing the boundaries of Buddhism, a male-dominated sphere.