The Indian e-commerce platform Myntra is currently trending on Twitter. The reason behind it? Their logo, which was recently tweaked after a Gujarati social worker found it “indecent, derogatory and denigrating to women.” As per Naaz Patel from Avesta Foundation NGO in Gujarat, the old Myntra logo apparently resembled a naked woman and thus she filed a complaint with the police to get it removed and penalise Myntra.
It was in December 2020 that she had filed the complaint, and one month later, Myntra already has a new logo. Here is what DCP (cyber) Rashmi Karandikar had to say about the entire matter: “We found the logo offensive in nature and company officials have assured us they’ll change it, but it will take a month to execute it across all platforms.”
Not gonna lie, I never saw anything twisted with Myntra’s signage until it was pointed out to the entire nation with the rushed logo change. But that is probably ‘coz I have bigger concerns pertaining to my everyday life, my safety in this country.
Ironically, the case was filed with the Mumbai Police’s cybercrime department, the same state that has given some highly problematic legal judgments about women and their safety in the past few weeks. Amazing how it is a logo where they draw the line.
Interestingly, Myntra was founded in 2007 and it is after a good decade that something problematic has been found with the logo. Makes me wonder what sort of deliberation might have gone into it. I mean to suddenly wake up one day and decide that you are going to be offended by Myntra’s logo escapes me. Well, it’s said that the beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Guess, so does the murk. Then again, I also don’t understand how and why Myntra took like two seconds to entertain all of this and change their logo.
Well, the netizens are equally puzzled. Here’s what they have to say:
Well, gotta give it to the cybercrime cell for their quick action in the case and also hoping that they show the same alacrity with cases of online abuse and trolling that leave people seriously scarred. That said, I have got to say that we are perhaps reading too much into this logo and what it may or may not imply. Honestly, if you push it like this, there are at least a dozen more logos that can be put under scrutiny and take offense from.
I can’t say if the logo is actually offensive to women. But the fact that such swift action has been taken against it when there are bigger concerns pertaining to women’s safety that remain unaddressed is certainly offensive. We are offended. You should be too.
Featured Image: Instagram
