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Gender stereotypes pass down from generation to generation until they seep into our lives under the cloak of culture. When will this chain end?
*Spoilers alert
Whose kitchen are we talking about? Rich, poor, educated, illiterate, rural, urban, what is common in all these people’s kitchens? That which is shown in this great Indian kitchen. Gender roles and misogyny.
Whenever we talk about kitchens, I’m reminded of the short film Juice on YouTube. It is a masterpiece representation of daily sexism that we brush aside. I recommend all of you, especially parents, to watch it here on YouTube.
“I don’t like women cooking during periods because they deserve rest.”
Wow nice!
“I don’t like women cooking during periods because they are impure and I can’t eat food that’s impure.”
Wait, what?
“Also, I should take bath immediately to save myself from the impurity of…”
Stop right there. I’m done. Bye.
If we can’t make periods easier for people, we should at least not make it excruciating. I support only one rule about menstruation, that is, to let people do what they want.
You can go to office? Go.
You want a leave? Take one.
You want to cook? Do.
You want to take rest? Yes.
You want every woman to follow a rule? Sorry.
This movie depicts how everything a woman does is shamed or criminalised. Her job, her choices, her desires, her priorities, her health, her freedom, everything. The only thing she is meant to do is cooking and housework.
What’s there in a job, she’s asked. Zilch. What use are your degrees and skills, if you can’t handle the kitchen? A kitchen is a woman’s world, for 23 days a month. And for the balance of 7 days when she’s menstruating, I can’t even describe the horrible condition of her life.
A quintessential Indian household where everyone has food preferences. One wants rice cooked on fire. One has a problem with non-veg. One won’t eat outside unless he wants to. One doesn’t eat reheated food from yesterday. One wants chutney with dosa and another wants sambar without compromise. One wants black tea unlike the milk tea given to everyone because he’s health conscious, but even that black tea has to be made to exacting expectations.
None of them wants to at least put their plate in the wash basin, let alone cooking.
There’s one scene where I literally laughed at the condition of men in that house. He needs someone to fetch him his footwear while he goes out. Why even put the effort to go out, sir? Stay home and relax, no?
They don’t compromise on anything. They want everything served on a silver platter. Their traditions are abided by. Their hypothetical family honour. Their luxury of endless relaxation. Their disgusting comments in the name of humour. Their ego that is shattered whenever a woman talks. They uphold all of these. At what cost?
Gender stereotypes pass down from generation to generation until they seep into our lives under the cloak of culture.
Man wants his wife to prioritize household work over job because his mom did so. Girl thinks periods are impure because her didi/ bhabhi/ bua/ etc were ostracized during periods. MIL wants DIL to cook flawlessly without any qualms because that’s what she has been doing since her day one.
When will this chain end, if not now? After how many broken dreams will we realise that we deserve better?
This movie touches a very sensitive topic, glorifying housewives so as to shackle them to the kitchen. They say a woman being inside the house is ‘auspicious’. Maybe your house is flourishing with all the auspiciousness. But, happiness? Where’s it?
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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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