ChatGPT On What Is A Good Woman In Indian Society, Answer Is Intriguing

"That’s a good girl!" This is a phrase we have all wanted to hear from everyone while growing up. Right from toddlerhood, we knew that we are expected to behave in a particular way to be called a “good girl.” So as "good girls," we followed the standard of behaviour that was expected of us. We then grew older and gradually stopped being validated as good girls by society. Why did that happen? Because many of us dared to deviate from the conventional social norms and paved a path for ourselves—a path that made us independent, ambitious, opinionated, and unconventional women.

Curious about what the trending artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, had to say about good girls, I asked the chatbot to define a good woman. ChatGPT said that it doesn’t have a personal opinion as an AI language but gave a definition based on what is generally accepted by society. It read, “A ‘good woman’ is often defined as someone who is kind, compassionate, and nurturing towards others. She is usually supportive and caring towards her family and loved ones, and she is frequently regarded as a source of strength and stability in her community.” I would say I wasn’t surprised to not find words like "strong," "ambitious," "bold," "independent," etc., considering that we live in a patriarchal society that continues to view women in nurturing roles.

ChatGPT Defines Good Woman

To probe further, I asked ChatGPT to list out the qualities of a ">good woman. Mentioning that this is in no way an exhaustive list, the AI tool listed out "empathy and compassion towards others; kindness and generosity; strong communication skills; emotional intelligence and self-awareness; perseverance and resilience; leadership skills and the ability to inspire others; intellect and critical thinking skills; creativity and innovation; confidence and self-assurance; honesty and integrity." Although this list is comparatively better than the earlier definition, it still doesn’t do justice to defining a woman.

Women who are ambitious, opinionated, unconventional, and deviate from social standards in any way are often considered problematic. In our society, ambition is almost considered a negative term when associated with women. Since the AI tool was being quite diplomatic with its answers, my next question was, "Are ambitious, opinionated, and unconventional women bad?" The chatbot’s answer read, "No, ambitious, opinionated, and unconventional women are not inherently bad. In fact, these traits can be positive and powerful attributes that can help women achieve their goals, make a positive impact in their communities, and challenge harmful gender stereotypes."

ChatGPT also added that such women serve as role models for others and inspire change in their communities and beyond. Therefore, it's important to celebrate and support women who possess these qualities rather than labelling them as "bad" or "undesirable." And finally, I got one accurate answer from the AI tool.

I dug deeper and asked ChatGPT why Indian society dislikes women with these characteristics. The AI tool replied, "It's not accurate to say that Indian society as a whole hates ambitious, unconventional, and opinionated women. However, it is true that women in India, as in many other parts of the world, face a range of challenges and obstacles. Although this answer is also quite diplomatic, ChatGPT further listed out factors that contributed to the challenges that unconventional women face. "India has a patriarchal society where men hold most power and influence. Women who challenge these gender roles and strive for success and independence may face resistance from traditionalists who view these traits as masculine and therefore undesirable in women. Women are expected to prioritise their families over themselves, and women who speak out frequently face criticism.

Following up on ChatGPT’s answer, my final question to the AI tool was, "Why does Indian society consider a woman bad if she doesn’t follow social norms?" The answer read, "Indian society has been patriarchal for a long time with a strong emphasis on traditional gender roles and expectations for women to conform to certain norms. When they deviate from the expected behaviour, they are stigmatised as bad or immoral and face criticism, discrimination, and even violence." ChatGPT’s mention of the backlash that unconventional women face when they challenge the system is very much accurate.

The AI tool did provide some legitimate responses that were accurate and connectable, despite playing it safe with diplomatic statements at the beginning and end of every reply. However, it seems like we still have quite a long way to go before stronger words are used to describe women.

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