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Being educated is no deterrent to holding misogynist opinions, as these two interactions reveal.
In our society, intolerance is prominent and scary. What is even more terrifying is having to hear such nonsensical opinions from educated people.
I was talking to two classmates while having lunch in a restaurant. Conversation went somewhat this way :
X: Abortion is a sin.
Y: Oh yes, its terrible.
Me: Abortion is a sin?
X: Yes, of course. You are killing a human being here.
Me : Shouldn’t we leave that to the parents? What if they are not ready for a baby yet?
X: Then what’s point in having the child in the first place? They should simply avoid doing immoral stuff.
Me: Well, if they are consenting adults, then who are we to judge?
X: We can because it’s against out culture. One can be in a relationship but should not be involved in indecent things.
Me: Well, for some people, being in a relationship is counted as ‘indecent things’. So are you going to change yourself to comfort them?
X : *smiles*
Me : You can choose to refrain from things that you don’t like. But you can’t judge or force someone to follow your way. It’s like, just because you don’t like the colour “blue”, you criticize anyone wearing a blue shirt.
The conversation didn’t end there, where he merely repeated the same thing over and over. He is one of those guys in my college who always dresses fashionably with western clothes and shows off his gadgets, which again are invented by foreign people. So lecturers about tradition from him was really unbearable. But there was more.
*** *** *** *** ***
Another conversation with the same person went like this:
Me : It’s really nice to see girls in sports.
X : Yes. They are always fit.
Me : Of course. They have to practice a lot for hours.
X : Yes, but they are not really desirable.
Me : Why’s that?
X : In our society, men desire to marry women who have soft bodies. While practicing, their body hardens. Hence they have a hard time finding husbands.
I literally didn’t know how to respond.
What has been your experience with finding misogyny in places where you thought it wouldn’t exist? Share!
First published at the author’s blog
Breaking sexism image via Shutterstock
Free thinker, Feminist, Dancer, On-your-face blunt, Sarcastic, Avid Reader. Engineering student by education with a passion for technology. read more...
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Shows like Indian Matchmaking only further the argument that women must adhere to social norms without being allowed to follow their hearts.
When Netflix announced that Indian Matchmaking (2020-present) would be renewed for a second season, many of us hoped for the makers of the show to take all the criticism they faced seriously. That is definitely not the case because the show still continues to celebrate regressive patriarchal values.
Here are a few of the gendered notions that the show propagates.
A mediocre man can give himself a 9.5/10 and call himself ‘the world’s most eligible bachelor’, but an independent and successful woman must be happy with receiving just 60-70% of what she feels she deserves.
Darlings makes some excellent points about domestic violence . For such a movie to not follow through with a resolution that won't be problematic, is disappointing.
I watched Darlings last weekend, staying on top of its release on Netflix. It was a long-awaited respite from the recent flicks. I wanted badly to jump into its praise and will praise it, for something has to be said for the powerhouse performances it is packed with. But I will not be able to in a way that I really had wanted to.
I wanted to say that this is a must-watch on domestic violence that I stand behind and a needed and nuanced social portrayal. But unfortunately, I can’t. For I found Darlings to be deeply problematic when it comes to the portrayal of domestic violence and how that should be dealt with.
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