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Can a lingerie fashion show be empowering for women and express sexuality in positive ways? An unusual look at a recent fashion show!
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2017 took place recently in Shanghai on the 20th of November. It was a huge affair with its usual pomp and show, with the attendees having the time of their lives, but it got me thinking of something else.
Now, I know that this brand (and many others in the industry) are often under scrutiny for only sticking to women of a certain body type, i.e., skinny and tall. But it is also true that it is empowering in a certain way for the women who walk the ramp. It might be, basically, a sales event to promote their brand; however, over the times such events have evolved over the years to become something that people anticipate during the year. And that gives me hope because it reaches out to so many people and hence, has the ability to make change happen.
Modelling should no longer be seen from the same prism of bias that it has faced since a long time; modelling is also women taking control of their bodies and flaunting them, The models walk down the ramp, exuberant with power and with a sense of agency that they can utilise, which is something that should be encouraged. They are taking charge of their expression, in a way.
The platform that we’re talking about, i.e., a lingerie fashion show, is not considered very highly but these pageants have come to have a power of their own. From being a venture that might come across as tainted with the male gaze, it also has subverting elements of women being comfortable in their own skins. That is a kind of empowerment that women look for the most in themselves.
The most obvious thing that it stands for, to me, is the celebration of a woman’s sexuality. Like I said, these lingerie pageants might have started off as catering to the male gaze but now with the changing times, and with movements like #freethenipple which work on un-oppressing female sexuality, the act of walking free into the world without ‘covering up’ is extremely liberating.
Having said that, it is also true that this empowerment should be extended to all kinds of body types that women have. That is perhaps, the hurdle that we have started only circling around and will hopefully scale one day. And this is exactly why large brands like Victoria’s Secret have so much power – they can help set trends and make the world a better place for women, at least in the fashion industry – by letting go of stone age notions of beauty. That is the potential that I see in it. I might sound extremely optimistic but it is a thought that could do with implementation.
Let me know what you think below!
New Delhi, India I like to read, write, and talk. A feminist through and through, with a soft spot for chocolate. read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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