We worship womanhood!
Anyone who is somewhat aware of the sport of cricket must be aware of the new phenomenon in the cricketing world: IPL. Lately, out of many reasons, one of the reasons IPL's in the news is for being targeted by right-winged politicians madly in need of votes. The politicians and other such moral-saviors of the Indian society are not too keen on the un-Indian skimpy outfits of the cheerleaders for IPL teams. Well, it's really no news, you say, since India's righteous quite frequently indulge in outrageous moral hullabaloo and I agree. However, what caught me in disbelief and compelled me to write this post is the following comment made by Siddharam Mehetre, a junior interior minister of Maharashtra:
Need I explain the cause of my disbelief? Actually, I don't know whether to laugh or feel sad at such hypocritically sad state of affairs!!
Labels: Freedom of Choice, Humor, Media
posted by Roop Rai at
6:52 PM
15 Comments:
What a bunch of hypocrites! These kind of men don't want to be caught ogling by their women folk. :)
Can always count on these idiots to waste time on such matters. Nothing productive to do, one must ask? No work?
By
Rashikaps, At
April 27, 2008 at 5:50 AM
It is almost uncanny when you see how similar very conservatives sound- regardless of where they are from. And control of women's bodies is always on the agenda- be it garments, or behavior...
the amount of time they spend regulating what women should or should not do is tremendous. All to no avail of course- because the more conservative they are, the worse off the women.
By
Alankrita, At
April 27, 2008 at 8:29 AM
ok this might get u guys indignant, but i have a problem with these cheerleaders too. actually, with the whole concept of cheerleadering that has women put in theri place as sexual objects. it's a sexist tradition of men as sportspeople and the women there to cheer them looking sexy and in loud make -up. even abroad, i read an article where worried parents opposed the extremely sexual dance steps their young daughters were made to rehearse in the name of cheerleadering.
But then again I am sure the politicians opposing the cheerleaders have other reasons in mind -- like the always virgin bharatiya sanskriti. Sometimes it's hard to take sides, tho.
By
sc, At
April 27, 2008 at 1:40 PM
Sc, I see your point of view but my argument in these matters always is for 'freedom of choice!' If the cheerleading women concerned CHOOSE to do the sexual moves and are not forced into them, then why should we question it?
I personally would not choose to be a cheerleader. At least I have the freedom of choice to choose that. That's all I care about really .. Freedom of Choice! When we start saying that cheerleading is wrong because of the provocative dresses this that, where do we end this moral policing? For example, in Iraq, just this past month, a father was acquitted for having 'honor killed' his daughter. Court's verdict was that the father had every right to kill his daughter because the daughter should have known better to live by the religious rules of Islam. Why couldn't she have the freedom to choose who she wants to spend her life with?
Similarly, if a woman wants to prostitute herself because it is an easy way for her to make money, why shouldn't she have the freedom to choose that career?
If a woman is a cheerleader and for her, it is easy money by showing off her body parts and she is comfortable with herself doing that, why shouldn't she have the freedom to choose that career?
There are plenty on women on Bollywood showing plenty skin because people DO want to watch it and skin show DOES earn great revenue ... why shouldn't these women be allowed the freedom to choose a career in these fields if it's making them money?
At the end for me, it's all about freedom of choice. It's a free economy. The markets dictate people's choice of careers. People in India and worldwide dish out money for cheerleading entertainment, why won't women take up those careers then? They are not being forced into them. They are doing by their own choice. So I see nothing wrong with it as long as they aren't forced into cheerleading profession.
By
Roop Rai, At
April 27, 2008 at 2:06 PM
Well, I agee, SC. Cheerleaders in a country like India- where "properly dressed" women are objectified everyday in the streets- just reconfirms the fallacy that women ae to be objectified. However, banning them or creating stringent dress codes does not solve the objectification problem. It merely puts the responsibility on the women- classic blame the victims stance. No one ever talks about the men ogling or passing lewd comments- that is very much in keeping with the "ancient cultures" and "family values" so much so that we all jump in to stop cheerleading to stop the sexuality the steps engage in order to make up for the immaturity of the people who actually perpetrate the acts that make these sexualized professions.
Shatrughn Sinha likened these cheerleaders to "bar dancers". As if it were demeaning to be a bar dancer rather than to be someone who goes there for cheap titillation.
And on another note,I wonder what people eally object to? Women's bodies- women's bodies with less clothes? I though nudity was pretty natural, for the mothers and daughters specially naked female bodies ae no surprise- we are built like that... As for the fathers and sons- for whose "protection" this non-issue is being made an issue- well its time they grew up and learnt to keep their natural impulses in control.
By
Alankrita, At
April 27, 2008 at 2:15 PM
also wanted to mention ... i agree that cheerleeding, stripdancing et al as a concept might be demeaning to women, as SC said, but the question is who are these politicians or any such moral police to legislate anything?
By
Roop Rai, At
April 27, 2008 at 2:22 PM
"Cheerleaders in a country like India- where "properly dressed" women are objectified everyday in the streets- just reconfirms the fallacy that women are to be objectified. However, banning them or creating stringent dress codes does not solve the objectification problem. It merely puts the responsibility on the women- classic blame the victims stance"
100%!!! bans are unacceptable!
By
Roop Rai, At
April 27, 2008 at 2:24 PM
Dear Roop, Alankrita,
I agree with u guys a 100 per cent. it's like item numbers, i think they're degrading, but heck, who is anyone to object? but again, it's a vicious cycle. being open about cheerleading keeps the sexist cycle running telling little boys and girls what they're supposed to do in life. in fact i was apalled seeing the promos of Bhootnath where little boys are playing some sport, i forget which, and the little girls are in skirts and pom poms doing the cheerleading bit. Made me so mad!
But I am with you guys against ANY kind of moral policing. it's a dangerous Pandora's Box.
By
sc, At
April 27, 2008 at 2:38 PM
And I have been wondering about another thing. Possibly not very german to the issue, but never one to let a rant go, here goes:
Why is only a sexualized representation of women objectification? Isn't the whole woman as wife, mother, "devi", sister- also an objectfication? I find it demeaning when women are just generally categorized into these roles also because it subtracts from them as human beings. Men have it so much easier. They are treated far more as individuals than we are. Isn't it time we got out of that blinkered thinking.
By
Alankrita, At
April 27, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Well.. I dint enjoy those cheerleaders, but those hypocrites have no right to object. As long as they can still ogle at girls as young as their granddaughter and have a good supply of porn available, they are fine.. except to come out at these times with their injured Indian morality. And as for the current Indian movie songs, arent they even more provocatively dressed and the dancing so cheap? If I haven’t seen cabaret dancing ,I guess there shouldn’t be much to see after seeing one of these dance clips. But then as Roop said if this is the choice that the girls make, let them.. and right now even the number one heroine is doing the same. I guess India is after all the land of “kamasutra” but it is just that after all the “Kama” is over we just want to kill the after effect, specially if it comes in the form of a “girl child”.
Wish our "moral police" would show the same committment to unchaahi and other important issues at home.
By
Happy Kitten, At
April 28, 2008 at 2:56 AM
politicians suck in general and especially so in India.
Their concern towards cheerleaders is not becoz of respect for women.They have a habit of making an issue out of a non-issue.
I agree with Roop-its about individual choice
By
dumb male, At
April 28, 2008 at 3:57 AM
I dont have any emotions left to react to this senseless, baseless, mindless, thought-less, weightless bullshit!!!
Wannabes like Shatrughan Sinha, and the rest of the jing bang, are so deviated from the issue of contention, and so evnveloped by their insecurities that these bastards dont have any other 'mudda' to talk off!
It can be anything of the hook!!
By
k10, At
April 28, 2008 at 4:53 AM
These men who protest against the cheerleaders are the ones who want to molest them! They are animals themselves and that is what they think ALL women are for. They don't want their wives to see the lust on their faces when they look at these women.
By
Nita, At
April 28, 2008 at 8:47 AM
Two cases:
Case 1: A woman’s “freedom of choice” to abort the fetus if it were to be a female fetus. Three issues here: 1) the action of ‘sex-selective abortion’ 2) freedom of choice to carry out that action, and 3) the ‘moral judgment’ regarding that action.
Case 2: A woman’s freedom of choice to earn money by dancing as a cheerleader on the cricket ground. The same three issues discussed above apply in this case too.
Of course, questions arise in both cases:
1) Is the nature of the freedom of choice ‘real’ or ‘pseudo’? (Feminist theorists from a radical humanist perspective argue that in many cases the perceived freedom by ‘psychic prisoners’ is actually a case of ‘false consciousness’. This in turn raises the question, who decides whether the individual’s choice if real or pseudo?).
2)Who decides the morality of a social practice?
3)Is there a criterion or criteria to deny someone his or her ‘freedom of choice’?
I remember reading on this blog a posting on 2(or 3) women who chose to abort because they did not then want to have children (whether it was a boy or girl was immaterial to their decision). If I remember correctly, the women had a “freedom of choice” but the author of that posting had raised a question mark about the morals or motivations underlying their choice.
So, the question is, should ‘freedom of choice’ be the cornerstone on which a situation (or society) is assessed or should there also be accompanying discussions about the moral aspects of that what is chosen?
I am regular reader of this blog and am struck by the thought provoking work being done here so energetically.
By
mistersingh, At
April 29, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Hi everyone
Sorry, I've been away ... traveling and relocating ... taking up a lot of time. Thank you for your comments in the meantime!!
alank, i so see the validity of your 'objectification as a sati-savitri' argument. you should write more about it.
kets: amen to that, hun.
nita: :) I love the angst in your words!!! It sounds like you'd smack these politicians if one of them were to present himself to you.!! Fab1! :)) i'd do the same!!
mistersingh, that was very well put. surely got me thinking about the whole concept of freedom in a more systematic manner. In case of sex-selective abortion, I think it is more to do with discrimination against the female gender rather than freedom of choice being the deciding factor. However, you're right. Not everyone sees it that way. Especially the strong anti-abortionists in the West. They don't understand why pro-lifers who are pro-abortions normally are against sex-selective abortions. Actually, I read an argument recently ... I shall share.
regards ... and thanks for reading the blog. :)) You write very well on yours as well .... and give me enough meat to think. :)
By
Roop Rai, At
April 30, 2008 at 7:43 AM
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home