Why is no one talking about objectification of men?
Sorry, Salman bhai, but I wish you had taken offence to the "chaddi" dialogue in your brother Sohail Khan's movie Freaky Ali, instead of unabashedly promoting it.
And, it should not have gone viral. If we are not okay spilling our bra sizes in public, why are we okay suddenly selling "chhoti" and "badi" chaddis, and chaddis of all possible colours? Why aren't the watchdogs of female modesty not standing up for men and their modesty now?
Or, do men have none? Tricky question. Will save the debate for another day.
Our textiles minister Smriti Irani took offence to being addressed as "Dear" in a letter by Bihar education minister Ashok Choudhary because it stinks of sexism. I'm not sure if it does.
Then how are we okay with fashion and gossip websites calling men hot, eye-candies, sex on the beach, and so on? Double standard?
We glowered over Ram Gopal Varma's tweet on Angoorlata Deka becoming an MLA. He said: "If an MLA can look like this, achche din aa gaye hai (good days have come). Thank you Angoorlataji, thank you Modiji..first time I love politics."
The entire twitterati slammed the man for being sexist. What exactly was his fault? Wasn't our very own Shobhaa De doing the same thing? A not-so-discreet crush on former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan.
Her open adulation of his good looks made him a sex symbol in no time. And, it set tongues-wagging. He made many women fall in love with the economy. No crusader to defend Rajan's modesty here?
Making a man of this stature a sheer poster-boy of our economy screams of sexism. Does it not? And dear ladies, reverse sexism is not cool and is definitely not the feminists' revenge on society.
Let's play a game. Quick quick, be quick, names of prime ministers? Name the Canadian PM before Justin Trudeau? No? Think again. Can't remember?
Trudeau happens to be a reasonably good-looking man (subjective though) and happens to be in politics. Many would thank god for his political lineage!
Now, the man who defiantly calls himself a feminist and stands up for all things woman, recently wrote a letter saying "poverty is sexist" and left several hearts fluttering, won many women over.
He is definitely more than just a poster-boy premier. But, is also Marvel Comics superhero with his debut in the latest issue Civil War II: Choosing sides. Is the world not having a crush on him for his good looks, good looks and good looks?
He makes his policies look good too. Would that be sexist? National papers go gaga over him and we don't really blame him for that. Or, even snigger at the newspapers.
With the logic that applies to women, this squeals sexism too. At least, I think, it does.
It is not just successful women attracting sexist remarks, it is the men too. Is the definition of "sexism" and "objectification" gender-specific?
Bollywood is slammed for sexism and for objectifying women. But no one seems to be irked by the way our boys on screen are dropping their pants, ripping their shirts open, flaunting their chiselled torsos. No one whines about John Abs-raham dropping his pants for his latest release, Dishoom, though.
Is there some sadistic pleasure in watching the men step into the shoes that women have been walking in for centuries?
If Deepika Padukone and the rest of the country had an issue with a national newspaper cashing in on her cleavage, what makes it so easy for gossip websites and newspapers calling men Greek gods, hotties and sex-on-the-beach? Such hypocrisy.
Reverse sexism is not a sign of feminist progress. If women suffer body shaming, so do men.
In the book, The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession, the author warns that an increasing number of men are absorbed by compulsive exercising, eating disorders, body-image distortion, and ultimately, abuse of anabolic steroids.
Hunk-vertising or dude-vertising (using drop-dead gorgeous men to advertise products) has left a lot of men feeling inadequate.
The world's leading market intelligence agency, Mintel, reports that about one quarter of males (about 26 per cent) agree that men are sexualised in adverts. And, it does affect the regular lifestyles of a large number of them.
It takes Old Spice to bring soaked-in-sex-appeal Milind Soman to revive their brand. If this is not sexism, what is?
Honestly, if you have even once looked at the Amul Macho ad and been okay with "yeh to bada toing hai", women should not play victim and wince at a dolled up Katrina Kaif selling the Slice mango drink.
We just about started to stand up against the Fair and Lovely ads for women when all of a sudden a barrage of men turned fair and (not so) lovely.
The hyper-sexualisation/objectification and body-shaming of men is as distasteful as that of women. And, it must end.