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We often call women 'aunties' for certain aspects of their behaviour. Let me tell you why it is a regressive train of thought!
We often call women ‘aunties’ for certain aspects of their behaviour. Let me tell you why it is a regressive train of thought!
‘Hey, aunty jaisa na karo!’ (Don’t behave like an aunty!) ‘Wo aunty jaisa chugli karta hai!’ (He complains like an aunty!) ‘Aunty jaisi soch hai tumhari!’ (You think like an aunty!) ‘Aunty jaise comment karta hai!’ (You comment like an aunty!)
I am sure all of us have heard such lines or even used them in our day-to-day life. But is it really true? Are aunties to be blamed for everything wrong with the world? Let’s analyse!
‘Aunty’ is usually a term used for middle-aged women. Most of the time, we tend to forget that these are women who got married quite early and have failed to form opinions of their own. A number of these women were wholly dependent on their husbands and in-laws and thus, believed in what they said. What could have been a gynaecologist, turned out to become a baby machine instead.
Fearing social ostracism, they started believing in whatever was fed to them, thus the social evils of today have persisted. What we often ignore is that the ‘uncle’ or the husband, in most cases is responsible for this kind of thinking. It is the society that feeds stuff to the woman believing it to be their own thinking. But do we ever hear anyone say, ‘uncle jaisi soch’? (thinks like an uncle)
At the same time, the depiction of the evil stepmother in movies (which is hardly true in real life) comes in handy. However, the glorification of rapists in the 90s movies or the trope of a woman ‘losing her honour’ is hardly ever called upon.
We’ve all seen the 90s movie ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ and ridiculed the mother and her friends for kicking her son out. But did we ever question the plot where all a doctor bahu did was make rotis as the men sat and ate while cherishing this fact?
On the one hand, we glorify excessive work and we scold women who don’t work excessively or the ones who complain about it. At the same time, we expect them to become complete open-minded and ‘modern’ human beings. How many times have we asked our mothers or grandmothers about their passions and interests or what they wanted to do when they were young?
We need to come forward and call out such people for their behaviour. Moreover, we need to stop using these terms in our daily life. Instead, we can use alternatives like ‘purani soch,’ ‘chhoti soch’ or narrow-minded.’ Pinning this solely on women is a habit we need to get rid of. Calling out someone’s bad behaviour is okay but shifting blame is something that will only turn us into the ‘aunties’ we hate!
Picture credits: Still from Bollywood movie Kal Ho Naa Ho
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Have you ever been addressed as 'Aunty' by folks not much younger than you? You will relate to this.
The southern staple for breakfast, the idli, is not as simple as it sounds. There is a certain technique to it that any South Indian aunty will be proud of.
“Idli seria vanduda?” (Has the idli turned out well?) is a question every thoroughbred Tamil aunty will ask, irrespective of when, where or by whom ‘The idli’ is being made. It is not a casual question, mind you. Tried and tested techniques and years of hands-on field experience authorize the questioner to enquire thus. The grays on aunty’s head stand testimony to the years spent perfecting the art and science of idli-making.
Many households have aunties who are practically fanatical about their idlis. Any conversation with even an inkling of the syllable id…will perk up their antennae. In no time, they’ll be monopolizing the conversation, discussing the dearth of good ‘ulundu’ or tut-tutting new-fangled idli-vandalism in the form of ‘chilly-idli’.