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Society
Trapped in 'White'
"Do you need a
sex partner? Because I'd really like to sleep with you," asked the hip,
well-dressed young Nepali man walking behind me at 9 am on the streets of
Kathmandu. When I recovered from my astonishment at his brazenness, I
thought cynically that in comparison with the aggressive grabs, leers and
jeers I experience on a daily basis in Delhi, perhaps I should've been
grateful that at least he had asked.
I was also taken aback by this 'proposition' because though my travels
across south and east India, Pakistan and Nepal have been brief, they have
nonetheless proved a welcome respite from the sexual aggressiveness I
experience from men in the urban areas of north India.
Ironically, the reason I was in Kathmandu was for a conference on gender
and the media in South Asia, organized by the South Asia Free Media
Association. This man's sexual 'request' to me was a resounding reminder
that such deliberations as we had on the portrayal of women in the media
are not abstract but important steps in coalescing an urgently required
global movement against the objectification of women as sexual play toys.
After two years of living and working in Delhi and travelling in India, I
will soon return to the US. Of all the difficult aspects of living in
Delhi, I can wholeheartedly say that the only thing that I will truly be
glad to leave - and am partly leaving because of - is the incessant
verbal, visual and physical sexual harassment I receive from men on the
streets.
Certainly the abuse is not restricted to white women. However, it does
seem that being young, fair-skinned and light-haired makes one a
particularly marked target. From 12-year-old boys shouting 'boobies' to
careening pairs of men on motorcycles promising to 'give it to me right'
to men grabbing my breasts at the market in broad daylight, not a single
day goes by without someone at least shouting "Hello sexy".
While walking, I instinctively keep my gaze low and avert my eyes from
those of men. After particularly infuriating experiences, I have even
toyed with the idea of hiding myself under a burkha (veil).
In the light of this constant irritant - sometimes danger - I face in
Delhi as a `western' woman, it makes my blood boil to walk into the office
every day to see the bared breasts of blonde Hollywood celebrities printed
next to the masthead of several national dailies. When I turn on the TV, I
see countless images of stereotypical, `loose', usually American, women.
From music videos to `tele-friendship' agencies to 'cross-over' Hinglish
films, the number of times that the woman featured in the ad, movie or
video is fair skinned, big bosomed, blonde and very inviting is
stultifying.
A few months ago, I watched a Bollywood film, 'Out of Control', about a
young Punjabi man in New York who falls for a former nightclub dancer (an
American blonde). They immediately slip into a wild relationship only to
fall apart with the arrival of papaji - the boy's father - who quickly
arranges his wedding to an Indian girl. This Indian girl, naturally, is
very submissive and very doting.
The lightweight storyline seems irrelevant in view of the much more
perplexing portrayal of American (or western) women, through the female
character. Full bodied, scantily clad, with long, luscious blonde hair,
Sally is shown to be clueless, ditsy and overtly sexual. What do these
characters mean for us - for western women, for Indian women, for
relations between men and women, for relations between cultures?
By watching films like `Out of Control', what perceptions do the majority
of Indian viewers, who are not so familiar with America, glean? When layer
upon layer of films and pop culture entertainment that reaches India (and
the rest of the world) contains such slanted, skewed representation of
American culture and American women - what are the effects?
People ask why the occurrence of rape is increasing in Delhi. Why are more
and more foreign women being assaulted? Does it not seem that the
promiscuous images of western 'behaviors' in films, on TV, and even in the
pages of newspapers, in this traditionally reserved sexual culture, are a
contributing effect?
A national daily that, ironically, has pages devoted to sexy images, did a
story in March 2004 on how insecure foreign women feel in Delhi. It had
several women tourists complaining about molestation and eve-teasing in
public places.
My own experience with men on the street in northern India is direct. What
I do know is that when I walk down streets pocketed with men, I am leered
at, jeered at, and even grabbed at. What is my problem, they seem to
wonder; aren't I, too, ready to take off my clothes and dance on the
vegetable cart?
It seems that the men who harass me day and night do not see me - or for
that matter even Indian women who choose to wear jeans and 'western'
clothes - as 'normal'. I don't seem to have the same sort of problems,
desires and feelings as the women they know and associate with. We seem to
represent a fictitious world in which women don't have to cook, clean,
fight discrimination and work all day. The image they seem to have is that
of women who frolic about carefree, flaunt their sexuality and sleep with
a different man every night.
I recently heard a very wise woman say, "The reason that it is so
difficult to fight with stereotypes is that each one contains a kernel of
truth." There are indeed western women - blonde, buxom women - who lead
open, flirtatious and glamorous lives. However, these women represent a
miniscule fraction of western women. Besides, something like a mere two
per cent of the entire population of the US has blonde hair!
My fear is that such disproportionate stereotyping of white women leads to
incredible cultural misunderstanding that has political implications above
and beyond the immediate repercussions on women like myself. The
perceptions of western women that people get from popular media and
advertisements serve as fodder for repressive restrictions on women in
many countries.
It is high time that women of every shape, culture, skin color and
background stand together to protest the vile, destructive representations
of western women - indeed all women - in the media.
Sexual objectification of our bodies can be countered through gender
education and the creation of media that represents real women living real
lives, to portray women as role models for what they do and say rather
than what they wear - or don't!
– Evelyn Thronton
August 15, 2004
By arrangement with
Womens Feature Service
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