I was in university in the '80s and met a pair of very nice Japanese "girls" (their chosen designation, but that's kind of foreshadowing what comes). They were beautiful, intelligent, kind, and fun to be around. They both had Master's degrees and were going for Ph.D.s. (One in literature, the other in psychology.) So I asked them what they wanted to do with those degrees.
Their answer turned me into an instant "kill the patriarchy with a sharp stick" type. They were going through all this work to get a better husband. They were literally ticking off the boxes that made them more desirable wives beyond already being pretty, intelligent, and kind:
- educated ✅
- educated abroad ✅
- post-graduate studies ✅
- doctorate ⬜ (work in progress)
Their entire worldview was what they could do to be better wives, to make their husbands more valuable in the eyes of others. The thought of doing things for themselves never crossed their minds, and indeed they got very troubled looks on their faces if you asked about that. Their role in life was to be valuable for their husband, to be mother to his children, and to be the keeper of his home. Everything they did, including getting a Ph.D.! was just so they'd be more suitable for him.