How many of us girls have met with disgusted faces every time we mentioned our periods? ‘Ew!’ they say, as they pretend to shut their ears. Or when we talk about body hair – oh, I forgot, women aren’t supposed to have any body hair. As girls, there are so many times we feel objectified some days that, by the next day, we’re almost expecting it to happen. We would be surprised if it didn’t. We forget, a little bit, that this isn’t how it should be.
I remember the looks I got when I wore a sports bra (under a sleeveless top, of course) in school one day, for a dance competition. I remember, because it’s the same look I get, even today, when I walk towards the ladies’ compartment at the metro station, wearing a dress that just about grazes my knees, holding tight to the stole my mom handed me on my way out. But the next day, when I wear a salwar kameez, there is no change in the looks. No, they’re just aimed at different places, the neckline if not the legs. But god forbid I wear that to a party because, ‘You look way sexier in a dress!’ or ‘Don’t dress like an aunty, you’re only 24!’
But that’s just another day, another way in which girls are made to feel uncomfortable in their own skin, even sometimes in their own house, even sometimes by their own friends. If you’ve ever been made to feel the same way, you need to watch this – A Brown Girl’s Guide To Gender by Aranya Johar. The poetry is beautiful, heartbreakingly true and brings back the anger some of us forget to feel as we go along, adjusting to the catcalls and the misogyny. But, personally speaking, it’s good to feel the anger again. It also gives me hope. Watch this amazing video and maybe you’ll be just as moved as I was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Eh5OnNeoY
