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Valentine’s Day is as simple as just loving someone. It is likely that you know the person you’re buying presents for, or taking out, or hanging out with. Then, there are some others who suddenly find their soul mate on the day of love (extremely rare though).
What I cannot comprehend is why we keep falling for the commercial tricks that keep objectifying women (more than men, mind you)? Not a day goes by when I don’t see women in commercials that promote objectification such as those Axe ads (“spray more get more”), or Slice of Katrina Kaif, or Durex commercials. Why does Valentine’s day have to top that?Boyfriends/Husbands usually get teddy bears, chocolates, jewelry, clothes, shoes, et cetera for their wives. Wives buy clothes and shoes mostly, occasionally a bouquet or chocolates for their partners. Both parties get those gifts partly thinking that this is what their partner wants, and also due to their exposure to the media. Dairy Milk would have a Valentine’s commercial, which contains the happiest couple and a successful relationship, so the partner goes out to buy a box of chocolates.
The media is also responsible for feeding a woman’s brain, and she ends up thinking that the best husband/lover would give her what the commercial says. Industry’s capitalist intentions provide ground for such objectification/consumerism (they say ‘sex sells’), and that ride has taken women along. Now, coming back to Valentine’s Day, why not make this day about love as it is supposed to be?
Why make it about the cost of the presents or things? Many of us have sadly left feelings aside because there are too many flashing images with sexual imagery, which forces one to submit to objects. What they show in such commercials is pretentious and misleading. You might just miss out on the love of your life because she might feel offended by your teddy present.
Why give flowers to your flower? Give warmth, care, love, and affection. Cook some food for your partner, or give a massage, write a poem or a song for love, dance or travel together, and the list goes on. There are so many things one can do apart from buying objects for presents! I remember when I was younger, my boyfriend gave me a collection of all the letters we used to write to each other, with a picture and a beautiful card, and then we cooked together.
That was the best present for me because it showed me how much he cared, and the effort he put in to create something new with the golden old. If he would have just bought me flowers and called it a day, I wouldn’t have kept that memory alive because the deed wouldn’t stand out. Do something other than what everyone else is doing. Make it about love, make it count.
Photo Credit: Rajputro (Flickr)
A post-graduate student of English Literature, with an interest in Media, Communications and Feminism,
Yeah, rightly said. While every woman in society vociferously decries the sexual overloading of men as a detriment to female freedom, they conveniently overlook the role of women in categorically objectifying themselves in every possible manner, from the very innocent to the lurid extreme. Take the Slice ads of Katrina Kaif for example, it is understandable when a condom ad features the skin as it backbone, for that is what it is all about. But look here, what could have been a simple ad for a mango drink has to be converted into a celebration of sensualism, whether it is the strapless exhibition of Katrina, or her smacking her lips suggestively, the ad reeks of lust through evey pore, certainly much more than it promotes the product. Or the “Deepika Shake” ad for Nescafe, where Deepika obliges the audience with some exotic bellydancing while dressed skimpily (as usual), which, even after viewing like 50 times, is yet to enlighten me as to its relevance with Nescafe, apart from the possible strategy that such a hot dance would tether this ad, and in turn Nescafe, to the audience’s psyche. That may be a sound marketing ploy, but such ads, in the long run, would lead to an amoral singularity where guys will find it very difficult to think of women other than an assortment of body-parts. And the onus to not let this happen is as much on the women as it is on the guys. But sadly, the marketists hardly give a damn to this social problems and go on creating such ads, and even sadder, the women spontaneously agree. I cannot but paraphrase Jim Carrey from Liar Liar – “Wake up sisters, there’s no-ooooooooooooooooo-oooooooooooooo such thing as a weaker sex!” Stop letting the men objectify you and show the world that your brains deserve far more attention than what lies beneath…
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