Monday 13 July 2015

JUDGEMENT @ A GLASS OF WINE
You have inherited the XX chromosome ! You are a woman.
Step aside for a special check !
It will involve frisking the mind , forcefully staring at your behavioural patterns , digging deep into your thought process,nailing  in terms of percentage your audacity to live life on your terms , mapping why you like what you are not allowed to , then finally flashing it as the lead news in Big National dailies .In this country we prefer to keep two sets of morals , one for men and one for women and any women with the morals of a man is definitely up for scrutiny !
Really ? Alcohol doesn’t go down well with women, can surpass all national news and beat them to the prized position of the  first news in a leading national Daily ? There is news and there is sensationalisation of news but beyond that, there is now
a news category to propagate spicy stereotypes . To put it point blank , such prime postion given to a research based on gender to assert that women and alcohol make an unhealthy mixture , smacks of gender bias .Prioritising this piece of news is just an extension of the typical mindset which rushes to judge a woman at every given chance .

This newspaper must have been shoved up the nose of  many a a women with lengthy lectures on see I always told you this . For every man or father who 'disaproves' of a woman drinking alcohol , this prioritisation of news must be the final weapon .  Proudly , he would force his wisdom - "a woman's body can't take alcohol !"
I question the judgement to prioritise this news . The creation of a spicy gender biased research analysis to propagate stereotypes in a country like India . It forces one to question beyond intention , the very mindset that promotes such picking of news. Will there ever be a bias-level check for people who are suppose to be the pinnacle of informed awareness. Will they own upto the fact that they are guided by the same prejudices that judge a woman after she is eve teased , molested, raped or gang raped . The theories that float are a) She asked for it by wearing short clothes b) She was drunk , implying again that she had asked for it . Yes people in this country have the audacity to infer that it is ok to rape a woman if she wears small clothes and even more if she has consumed alcohol and specially so if she wanders out at night .
Why else would the headline scream on the compatibility of women and alcohol . Why would it be a verdict on her physical anatomy not suited for alcohol consumption . Tailor made for gender judging consumers ?
The very point of reference for deciding issues , their prioritisation, language to be used is slave to a very lopsided understanding of gender issues and biases . Even without any concrete intention we squeeze information into popular gender segments .
How will this mindset change ?
This could help . To just broaden the horizon a little . To Jerk even the self assuming wisest out of their narrow mindset . I would like to put forth the example of the nomadic Tuareg tribe of the Sahara desert which seems much progressive in comparision !
Take this ! Hope to see you blush at this . Their women are allowed to have multiple sexual partners outside of marriage . Yes, you heard it right .
In this Islamic tribe, women embrace sexual freedom. Would sound alien for most in India .
Listen to this .
Before a woman marries, she is free to take as many lovers as she wants.
'The tribe turns a blind eye,' explains Henrietta Butler, a photographer who has studied the tribe . 'The young girls have the same great freedoms as the boys' , he adds. Women in this tribe lose none of their power once they marry either.
Her tent is the power centre . So revered are women by their son in laws that the young men wouldn't dare to eat in the same room .
Many marriages end in divorce among the Tuareg. And when it happens, it is the wife who keeps the property ,both the animals and the tent. And it is she who normally decides that she’s had enough.
And there is no shame in divorce. Families will often throw their daughters a divorce party, to let other men know they are available once more.
The final eye opener is that it is is the men who cover their faces and not the women . Reason ? They say , their women are beautiful !
Young boys start covering their face at the age of six and later veil themselves as they grow into men .
I am not declaring any ideal situation . I am just requesting a re look at reference points for prioritisation , analysis and conclusion of gender issues . For some reasons, alcohol doesn't metabolize as quickly for women as it does for men ( part of the research flashed as lead news ) , is a piece of information that could well be a little piece in some lifestyle page .
Jane Austen in Persuasion wrote " I hate to hear you talk about all ladies as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures . None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives ."












3 comments:

  1. agreed! but weather men or women one should not support consumption of alcohol

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  2. Below is my reply to the above editorial published in Mail Today of 29 June 2015:
    The Editor,
    Mail Today
    Email: letters@mailtoday.in

    Kindly refer to the Editorial published under the heading ‘Glass is half empty for
    Women’ in Mail Today of 29 June 2015, which I believe has been written on the pretext of a
    news report titled 'Body basic: Alcohol does not go down well with women' printed in the TOI
    dated 14 June 2015. My views, as a reader of both the items, are furnished herein below for
    consideration and for publication too:

    "The editorial is a shrewd attempt to associate alcohol with gender-bias. The writer could not
    avert the mindset that women are equal to men only when they imitate men. No prudent society
    should treat any gender above the other. All have and should practice specified roles.

    The statement that ‘any woman with the morals of a man is definitely up for scrutiny’ confirms
    that come what may, each and every issue or study has to be contrived in a manner that it
    provokes debate on respective gender rights. The physiological reason has been entirely
    ignored. Be it a male or a female or for that matter the third gender, alcohol does not go
    well with anyone, if consumed beyond limit. Losing senses by any gender is no good for society
    at large. I doubt that women consuming alcohol would lead to women empowerment.

    The said study has been reported by a women Senior Editor, who covers health. Well being of
    each gender is of prime importance for a healthy society. Furthermore, questioning other
    editor’s prerogative and blending it as a gender bias is unprofessional.

    A reference to the Nomadic Tuareg Tribe of Sahara desert where women play men's role and are
    allowed to have multiple sexual partners outside the marriage has been made. Not sure, whether
    any male in that tribe has turned rebellion. Whether the issue is worthy match to one's own
    society tests the intellect level. The writer too will agree that one has to go according to
    the society one lives in. Any change that is good for the society is always welcome. Living
    on one’s own terms within the society and living alone in a society are completely different.

    By no means am I supporting the views of men or of the society that dictate or judge women.
    It should be for respective genders only to decide the way they want to live life. The voice,
    if at all, to be raised, has to be about judicious equality among genders and not about
    wayward comparisons. When no two human beings or twins have same mindset then how come men and
    women and the societies can have the same mindset? It would be suffice not to paint all with
    the same brush.

    'Propagating spicy stereotypes is another category of news’ itself amplifies that now-a-days
    news, as it happens, are not reported but studies are carried out or specific thoughts are
    imposed to embellish the news and ultimately to provoke society’s thoughts.

    Whether glass is half empty for women or not, it is absolutely clear that alcohol, by no means
    whatsoever, would lead to empowerment of any gender. The nous to opt moniker with last name
    and also the contents of the editorial is an affectation of feminist mindset. Instead, it is
    always better to be a humanist."

    I am not sure whether the same would be published, but it would be highly appreciated
    if the receipt is acknowledged and a feedback is provided with.

    Best wishes,

    Sunil Minocha

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