What I'm Forced To Think When I Think Of A Beautiful Woman...
( words)
*For representational purpose only.
Chances are, I’m going to sound like a feminist, as you continue reading. Some of you may even find the content repetitive. But as I sat in my cab, listening to the radio on my way to work, the lyrics struck me hard.
One after the other, three songs that played, back to back, were about how beautiful women are: The songs go on about their physical beauty, their “stats”, and how their attires fit their bodies.
In addition to these qualities, the choice of words that the singers picked, emphasized on solely a woman’s body, almost as if, this is the single quality that one would look for in a woman.
I’ve grown up watching Bollywood films and am definitely a fan, but after this realization, it hit me that 90% of the movies I’ve watched and even loved, were about women whose lives revolved around the hero, support his dream.
Women on the big screen are there to enhance the beauty of the film. I would be amiss if I didn’t highlight that a lot of this is changing now.
Somewhere, whether we accept it or not, this exists in our patriarchal society. Women could be highly educated, capable and intelligent, but society only values her, gives her a second look, if she is beautiful.
Who decides these specific notions of beauty? That women have to be slim, fair and tall to be deemed as “beautiful”. And somewhere, movies, music videos and ads cash upon these ideas and promote them further.
I find it strange, that I can’t find a song that praises a girl’s beautiful mind, intellect, caring nature… or anything on these lines.
Most of the immediate reactions to my comments are, do a role reversal: Instead of praising a girl for her beauty, praise a man for how hot he is. Throw on tiny clothes, give him glossy lips and shiny eyes and find him a woman who’ll pay for his shopping forever- how does this sound? Digestible?
And yes, today, this can be a reality. There are women who earn much more than their boyfriends or husbands. They probably are managing the household expenses at times too- and yet, these women are hardly celebrated.
Beauty is a strong mind. It is a strong personality. It is a caring person… I could go on. But what I’d like to end with here, is a note to all those who worship beauty, is this, “Get a life! Beauty is not going to last forever; find something permanent and everlasting in a woman.”
