“Remember you are my choice. I am not your privilege; my choices are like my fingerprints, they are unique. I choose to be different. I am the universe... infinite in every direction. This is my choice.”
These are a couple of lines from Vogue’s video on women empowerment, featuring Deepika Padukone. This video went viral merely hours after it was aired on social media. People were blown away by the sheer display of emotions of a woman towards the patriarchal society. But what concern me are our reactions towards this video.
To be honest, when I first saw this video, it literally took my breath away! Deepika’s call for the empowerment of women – to live their lives as they like – to break free from the male-imposed barriers and many other things... More importantly, the presentation did mesmerize me. But later on, when I reflected upon it, I hit upon the truth as to how quickly and easily we tend to believe and advocate those that are sold to us by pure marketing genius without even a moment’s thought!
I appreciate the video. I really do. Vogue has attempted to strike a chord with feminism in its own way, but unfortunately, I’d say it has failed miserably. For instance, the part where Deepika removes her bra-strap. Intended to tell the world – I shall wear what I like and not what you want me to wear. Agreed. But it is also very important to make sure that, the dresses we wear or rather we ‘like to wear’ should not cross the limits of decency. You would certainly not want your 6-year old son or daughter to stop and stare at near-naked men and women on the streets!
Then there is a common misconception among our ‘pseudo-feminists’ that women who wear full-hand sleeves or kurtas or whatever, are the victims of male chauvinism; that they are forced to wear such clothes. Well, when I say that women wear such clothes because they are comfortable in it, I believe I’m speaking for them in general. Of course, there are exceptions as always.
When homo-sapiens i.e. we were yet to have been developed intellectually, yet to have evolved into the core of the dominant species that we are today. When they roamed the forests as savages, they (read as we) covered themselves with leaves. But now, when we apparently are intellectually superior, we want to roam around naked. Quite a paradox, isn’t it?
Another part where the writers fail pathetically is the point where Deepika says it’s a woman’s choice to have sex before or after marriage, not to have sex at all or to have sex outside the marriage. I have a simple question for all those out there, openly supporting this statement. If you want to have sex outside your marriage, why enter the holy bond in the first place? And mind you, this goes double for men!
Marriage is believed to be a bond between souls, strong even after death. If at all you want to have sex outside the marriage, why marry at all? Why keep yourself and your partner as prisoners in a ‘cage’ called marriage? Why not divorce your partner and free yourself from this burden and live life as you please instead of betraying not only your partner, but also yourself?
Criticism apart, but we have to congratulate Vogue for its attempt to reflect the anger seething within ‘the woman’ in this short video. The raw wounds, the desire to break all the shackles that bind us have been brought out in a very passionate and vigorous manner. But this video fails in its credibility and the sensibility involved in making one’s choices, be it a man or a woman. In the current world, where sensationalism is favored over sense, I’m afraid that this video may just be considered an addition to that club! We understand that this video is about women empowerment, but a few sentences in it appear a little premature as a result of which, it has now become an object of mockery in the public eye. I sincerely hope that in future, whilst making such videos, the creators concentrate more on creating social awareness and impact rather than the unnecessary hype.
Srinidhi with
The Ghost Writer
To be honest, when I first saw this video, it literally took my breath away! Deepika’s call for the empowerment of women – to live their lives as they like – to break free from the male-imposed barriers and many other things... More importantly, the presentation did mesmerize me. But later on, when I reflected upon it, I hit upon the truth as to how quickly and easily we tend to believe and advocate those that are sold to us by pure marketing genius without even a moment’s thought!
I appreciate the video. I really do. Vogue has attempted to strike a chord with feminism in its own way, but unfortunately, I’d say it has failed miserably. For instance, the part where Deepika removes her bra-strap. Intended to tell the world – I shall wear what I like and not what you want me to wear. Agreed. But it is also very important to make sure that, the dresses we wear or rather we ‘like to wear’ should not cross the limits of decency. You would certainly not want your 6-year old son or daughter to stop and stare at near-naked men and women on the streets!
Then there is a common misconception among our ‘pseudo-feminists’ that women who wear full-hand sleeves or kurtas or whatever, are the victims of male chauvinism; that they are forced to wear such clothes. Well, when I say that women wear such clothes because they are comfortable in it, I believe I’m speaking for them in general. Of course, there are exceptions as always.
When homo-sapiens i.e. we were yet to have been developed intellectually, yet to have evolved into the core of the dominant species that we are today. When they roamed the forests as savages, they (read as we) covered themselves with leaves. But now, when we apparently are intellectually superior, we want to roam around naked. Quite a paradox, isn’t it?
Another part where the writers fail pathetically is the point where Deepika says it’s a woman’s choice to have sex before or after marriage, not to have sex at all or to have sex outside the marriage. I have a simple question for all those out there, openly supporting this statement. If you want to have sex outside your marriage, why enter the holy bond in the first place? And mind you, this goes double for men!
Marriage is believed to be a bond between souls, strong even after death. If at all you want to have sex outside the marriage, why marry at all? Why keep yourself and your partner as prisoners in a ‘cage’ called marriage? Why not divorce your partner and free yourself from this burden and live life as you please instead of betraying not only your partner, but also yourself?
Criticism apart, but we have to congratulate Vogue for its attempt to reflect the anger seething within ‘the woman’ in this short video. The raw wounds, the desire to break all the shackles that bind us have been brought out in a very passionate and vigorous manner. But this video fails in its credibility and the sensibility involved in making one’s choices, be it a man or a woman. In the current world, where sensationalism is favored over sense, I’m afraid that this video may just be considered an addition to that club! We understand that this video is about women empowerment, but a few sentences in it appear a little premature as a result of which, it has now become an object of mockery in the public eye. I sincerely hope that in future, whilst making such videos, the creators concentrate more on creating social awareness and impact rather than the unnecessary hype.
Srinidhi with
The Ghost Writer