I have often wondered what lay behind this sudden upsurge of "the modern woman" that has so enveloped our existence in recent years. Who is she? What defines her as "modern"? Is it financial independence? Crossing the barriers of domesticity? a sexual revolution? Exactly what? Women are definitely going places today, slowly but steadily demolishing the age old taboos imposed by a patriarchal world. Most are not happy just being a daughter, wife or mother. The new woman seeks an independent identity created by no one but herself. This we will all agree is great!
But that is something our mothers did too. In some cases, our grandmothers. They carved out a formidable niche for themslves in the professional world and at the same time did not neglect their homes. They worked but did not need to go to the extreme of exploiting their bodies for it. Not that all women do it today, but if the surveys are to be believed, it's no longer a taboo either. The other day I saw Puja Bedi in an interview on tv on her ad of Kamasutra, which was aired a few years back amidst great hulabaloo. She said she was happy to have done the ad which is said to have brought in a sexual revolution in India. Very true— talking about sex or trying to know about it is no longer an under-the-carpet affair. After all, it's a healthy, natural instinct which one can't be ignorant or hypocritical about. But one can't help wondering if the idea of safe sex has been transformed today into the reign of the body or free sex, which in turn has moulded itself into a definition of modernism. It's old-fashioned now to be conservative about one's body.
We open the newspapers everyday to reports of crime, violence and torture. Women are still the victims in most cases. But in an alarming new trend, they are seen as willing accomplices. And it's not just in order to earn a living. College girls, even school girls, from well-to-do backgrounds, are game to sell their bodies for a few hours, for the fun amd the money. And "it's no big deal!" Climbing up the ladder of tough competition in the professional world becomes much easier when one brings the body into play.
It's not always for men to be blamed. Thanks to the "sexual revolution" and "modernity", many young girls and women have managed to shed their moral inhibitions in order to go out and conquer the world. A very large part is played in this by the glitzy, packaged glamour world that has made its way into our homes via television. Whether it's movies, videos, songs, fashion, or even advertisements, the world is celebrating the body. The perfect curve, the perfect skin, the perfect hair, the perfect lipstick— and whoa! You see the lady smiling tantalizingly as she hugs her chair and her man.
Girls naturally mature earlier than boys and now even more so, as she becomes aware of the power of her body from a very early age. The discovery of the body ruling over, having the power to control and many times emerging victorious over a male, is profoundly dangerous. It becomes a lucrative option in a game of ascent where one can match the glorious women one sees on screen, and be proud of sharing a space in heralding a sexual revolution.
But at what cost, one wonders!
