My take on Feminism...

Last month’s issue of India Today, had this cover story called ‘Power Goddess’, some kind of a review on the 50 ‘Most Successful Women’ in India, and how they have stood up against all odds to prove their mettle in their male dominated careers etc etc. Good article, I must say, and kudos to all the women featured up there….I truly salute thee and look up to thee in reverence and hope that some day I too shall be featured in one of those lists (high hopes !!)

But one particular young-and-successful woman’s interview caught my attention, which is the prime reason I am writing this post. It was none other than Ms. Ekta ‘I-am-obsessed-with-K’ Kapoor of Balaji Telefilms, arguably the biggest TV production house in India (I don’t know why I needed to add that tagline there, but nonetheless !!) As is not new to the soap-a-holics, Balaji is run entirely by two headstrong women Ekta (or is it Ektaa now, numerological reasons ;-)) and her mom Shobhaa Kapoor, along with an extremely ‘creative’ team comprising primarily of women !! Well, of course, they’re doing really well, if TRP rating are anything to go by, and minting their money, thanks to the duo’s obsession with K and their faithfully churned-out saas-bahu sagas !!

Ok now I’m deviating from the true point of discussion…

There was this one comment by Ektaa which went- ‘The men at Balaji’s are treated like the men in my serials. They are mere props.’ Yeah right…so that’s what evolution and modernization is all about, huh ??!! Some overweight, self conscious gawky kid turned hip creative director of sappy soaps commenting on men being like doormats !!

Another so called contemporary, confident, 21^st century woman’s take on feminism: The highly over-rated Mallika Sherawat, the quintessential girl with big dreams, born in a terribly backward and conservative Haryanvi home, who runs away from her oppressive dad to prove her worth in the Big Bad world of Bollywood !! Now here’s a dame who can’t stop commenting on how the New Indian woman is all about being comfortable with her sexuality and speaking her mind and not being ashamed of her needs..und so weite…(Latest on her list of outright brash desires- Being in a threesome with Robert DeNiro and some other Hollywood hunk- Obnoxious !!) Well, ok, you may have highly ambitious desires and totally ahead-of-your-time viewpoints, but is it really necessary to be saying it on National television or in print ??!!

The only thoughts that run through my head on reading such statements are- OUCH !! Is this what they call ‘New Age Feminism’ or the much-hyped ‘Women finally emerging out of their shells’ syndrome or the highly over-rated ‘Battle of the Sexes’ !!??

Whatever you want to name it, if this is what contemporary society is all about, I’d rather be medieval, thank you !! After years and years of ambling on and on about position of men and women in society, I think its time for both the species to accept that NO ONE CAN DO WITHOUT THE OTHER !! Period. Then why this attitude adjustment problem ?

Methinks feminism lies in accepting your male counterparts as friends, colleagues, competitors, acquaintances, and EQUALS !! Just like how you ought to treat any other woman in the same field as you. There no more exists a ‘male dominated society’ per se. Yes, the women are still oppressed in some god-forsaken rural areas of Madhya Pradesh, female infanticide does exist, bride burning does happen…but in multinational companies, in the urbane societies of metropolitan cities, among the Page 3 la-di-da’s….definitely not !! In fact I think, probably the males have it the harder way in the cities- what with having to deal with terms like ‘metrosexuals’, MCPs, reservations (especially the 30% reservation in engineering colleges- ask any guy about that !!), casting couches (you think women don’t make passes at men ??!!)..and what not (whoever coined such terms !!)

To quote an example from home- I have a 65 year old grandmother, who is ANYTHING but your stereotypical 20^th century nari. She runs a house with 13 people, takes care of 5 grandchildren, manages the kitchen, the family and still finds time for the gym (yes, she’s an ardent health freak), frequents the beauty salon and attends all her kitty parties (where they discuss the latest microwave friendly crockery !!). And needless to say, all this would never have been possible without my absolutely supportive and accommodating grandfather !! God bless them !! And wouldn't that much rather be what a comtemporary Indian home is all about !!

It’s the age of DINK couples (for the uninitiated, that’s Double Income No Kids) and not-yet-30-but-multi-millionaire teenyboppers. Youngsters today dream of fast money, better lifestyles, larger-than-life homes and plush white-collar jobs. Women driving their own cars, men managing the laundry, both pitching in to run the household finances etc. is not considered all that big a deal anymore. True that the Indian middle-class society still doesn’t accept absolutely westernized concepts like live-in relationships, still squirms at excessive PDA on the streets, and still can’t come to terms with girls drinking and partying till early dawn. But again, that’s entirely a matter of personal choice and upbringing, and has little to do with the generalized face of the society, as such. If there is anything that needs change- it is the attitude of these self-obsessed femme fatales who think they can have the men eating out of their hands, just by posing half nude on cover pages of high-society magazines. If there’s anything that needs attention, it’s the people in rural India who still believe in child marriages, female infanticide and dowry. If there’s anyone who needs a good shaking-up, its Larry Summers, President, Harvard University, who proclaimed that men have more ‘intrinsic aptitude’ in complex science !! (Why the hell is he wasting time researching on insignificant theories !) Today’s world is all about progress and evolution and success and the only way to achieve that is to embrace the other race with open arms and work together towards a better tomorrow !! So move over feminism, the Age of Equality has arrived !! (God, I sound like some Youth Party Speaker !!)

And probably Ms. Kapoor should be reminded that Balaji runs because her dad supports her in selling her clichéd melodramas and because her brother still continues working in her meaningless movies, in a desperate attempt to shift his career into first gear !! ;-)