There is a new school of thought abuzz now. It’s called the school of ‘Not Feminists’ and recently it has gained many new celebrity converts. The latest among them is Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra who declared that she is ‘not a feminist’ at an event in Hyderabad.
She then went to on add that she strongly speaks up for gender equality and would like to be seen as a role model rather than a ‘feminist’.
When asked if her understanding on women’s issues developed more after joining films, she said, “I am very often confused to be a feminist but I am not. I am really not. Coming into Bollywood, I think definitely has made me stronger and more responsible.
I do feel proud of my gender, of being a woman. I do speak against gender inequality. I am the brand ambassador for Haryana’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padao’ campaign. And I think it is very important for me personally to strive for equality, especially in the industry that I come from,” said the actress.
“Now, I understand and accept that anything that I do, could and I hope should inspire young girls. Now, I am very particular about what I say or do. If that makes me half a feminist, then that’s okay. I want girls to be treated the way men are. Somewhere we lack that in our country. So, I do want to be a role model but not a feminist,” she added.
Pardon me, but that does sound a bit like feminism to me. Feminism is after all essentially about achieving equal rights and opportunities for both sexes.
But Parineeti’s statement is reminiscent of this new wave of women celebrities who are quite particular in clarifying the fact that they are ‘Not Feminists’, although they hasten to assure everybody that they do believe in gender equality.
Does feminism stand for something bad? Is it something that women would be ashamed to own up to? Then why is there so much hesitation in using the F-word? Because surely, that’s exactly how they treat it.
Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, described feminism as a “negative energy”.
“I think that I certainly believe in equal rights, I believe that women are just as capable, if not more so in a lot of different dimensions, but I don’t, I think have, sort of, the militant drive and the sort of, the chip on the shoulder that sometimes comes with that,” said Marissa in 2013 during a Makers documentary film. “And I think it’s too bad, but I do think that feminism has become in many ways a more negative word. You know, there are amazing opportunities all over the world for women, and I think that there is more good that comes out of positive energy around that than comes out of negative energy.”
She wasn’t alone in saying something like that. Many strong women, with some decent claim to fame (who you might otherwise think of as feminists) have gone on to specify that they are not feminists. They seem to fear that association with that word will classify them as man-haters and bra-burners.
If we were to presume that their statements are genuinely an indication of what they think, all of these statements are an indication that these women don’t really understand feminism. But they do fear being tarred by that brush.
Of late, feminism has become that thing which everybody loves to hate. It began as a knee-jerk reaction by the patriarchy because they suddenly realised that the system of suppression that they have been comfortable with for so long is suddenly in danger. So with that began a smear campaign of who a feminist is – angry, bitter, dry woman, who hates men, single all her life – the connotations used are entirely negative. And they seem to have succeeded, because today most people are confused about what a feminist really is and the early feminists- the suffragists who fought hard, got jailed, fasted and then force-fed so we could all have voting rights today, have all been dubbed as bitter man-haters.
Imagine a Minister for Women feeling that way today. Australia’s Minister for Women, Michaelia Cash came under fire for criticising feminism last year at an International Women’s Day event.
In India, although progress was gradual, our feminist movement really kick-started after the Nirbhaya rape incident in December 2012. The sheer horror and atrocity inflicted upon that girl merely because of her gender hit home in a way like no episode before. Women took to streets to shout for their rights – their right to be treated as human beings.
Suddenly the patriarchy was under attack and the response in India was similar too. Today we see a lot of material online, memes, tweets, comments, trolls who trivialise feminism, mock it as women taking advantage of men and a new school of thought that advocates for men’s rights – called meninism. And it’s everywhere.
I can see why a young actress like Parineeti would disclaim from being a feminist – it would make her vulnerable to Internet trolls, it might affect her fan base, most of whom are of the male sex. What she probably doesn’t realise is that every time she says she is ‘not a feminist’, she is making a mockery of a movement that is currently fighting for a most basic right – to be treated like a human being with feelings, limits, dreams and emotions.
There are women in every street in India who are facing dowry harassment, physical abuse, not being allowed to eat, sleep and rest like normal human beings. There are women pushing out babies every year at great risk to their health because they don’t have the freedom to say no. Some women have been imprisoned as slaves for years and so sexually abused until they have no sense of self. And there is also the everyday average housewife, who may have dreams of her own, but her husband and his family prefer that she stay at home because that’s cheaper than hiring a maid, cook and nanny. She works hard at home from the time she wakes up until bedtime with no weekly offs, but her husband dismisses her saying, “Oh her, she doesn’t do anything, she stays at home.”
So everytime somebody like a Parineeti says, ‘I’d rather be something else than a feminist,’ she is making freedom for all these women that much more difficult, that much more distant a dream. So what kind of role model is she really aspiring to be?
Image Courtesy: BCCL
More on>> Balancing Act
