I know this post is going to kick me in the **** later in life. Sadly i had nothing better to do when this came up in my mind. So here goes my first post of 2013. I was reading this particular book (in my defense, it was being referenced in many places and curiosity got the better of me. i know i know.. Curiosity kills..) "Fifty Shades of Grey" is the book's name and it is also affectionately called "Mommy Porn". I know, don't ask details. Anyway, coming back to the post, the book is pretty shallow in terms of content like its "Mother" (The Twilight Saga - Don't even get me started on Twilight. The book that made Vampires a joke. Even Van Helsing would commit suicide reading that book. - purely my views and mind it they are not open to discussion.)
Take these two franchises, remove the glitter (seriously Vampires - no pun intended) and all the other unnecessary elements in the books. Then try to understand the reason for it's phenomenal success among the female population. And like for any other story, you will understand that it had become successful because the readers were able to identify themselves with the characters. This led me to one question. Though not a politically correct one, I feel that it needs to be asked.
Do most women suffer from Low Self-esteem and/or the Cinderella Complex?(some may say rhetorical. But i protest) If so, WHY??
Sadly, the answer for it is beyond my comprehension.
Feminists might disagree with me, but the facts suggest otherwise. Anyway, i came upon this article and it surely points the finger in the right direction. I consider myself fairly broad minded ( in terms if Western society... Sadly, broad-minded in terms of Indian society would get you only as far as allowing girls to have education) and even i can understand that apart from physiology, men and women are different psychologically. Their priorities, likes, dislikes, the decisions one would take in the same situation and an infinite more examples stand testimony.
It sure is true that the psyche is molded by the environment and maybe this build up of psyche over the millennia, about the idea if a Man and Woman, is its product. So if we change our environment (read as our society), Would it result in bridging the gap between Men and Women? Maybe or Maybe not.
But unless this gap is bridged, i feel that even with abundance of rights given to women and with all enablers in place, it would not make a serious dent. A bird can fly as long as it is willing to. Don't get me wrong. I am not asking for restriction of rights. By all means Men and Women are equal. They should have equal rights. What i am saying is, it is not fair that some of the Female Gender (going by the books's popularity, i would say most. But who am i to argue) should still be trapped in the Cinderella Complex whereas the rest want Rights that is contrary. To quote Uncle Ben "With Great Power comes great responsibilities". Its not fair to expect a Knight in Shining Armour and when one arrives call him a Male Chauvinist (or sometimes encouraged as Chivalry). Phew. It sure is confusing for me. Do not know how the other fellow poor male souls deal with these mixed signals.
For Equality to exist. Chivalry must die. Romance must die. The idea of Women as we know must die (also the idea of Men). A new idea should be born or Incepted
So as long as Men remain from Mars and Women from Venus, Equality would be a tough goal to achieve. Equality can only be achieved when there is a meeting of minds and my dear friends, right now they are alien to each other.
What can be done then? If you ask me, the immediate goal should be RESPECT. We should start by trying to respect the opposite sex even if you unable to understand them. As one of my friends posted, many of the usual eve teasers and roadside romeos had participated in the Rape protests. Wonder if they understand how much the had in common to the rapists. Respect Women and Understand them. And for the ladies. Don't dwell on Cinderella complex when you need change otherwise.
At last, If you are wondering why the bizarre title. Well, you can never be too sure about being politically correct and this topic IS a Minefield. Prevention is better then cure. Better you than someone else smacking the head.
So to conclude.
Moral of the story : PLEASE AVOID THE TWILIGHT SAGA AT ALL COSTS.
Take these two franchises, remove the glitter (seriously Vampires - no pun intended) and all the other unnecessary elements in the books. Then try to understand the reason for it's phenomenal success among the female population. And like for any other story, you will understand that it had become successful because the readers were able to identify themselves with the characters. This led me to one question. Though not a politically correct one, I feel that it needs to be asked.
Do most women suffer from Low Self-esteem and/or the Cinderella Complex?(some may say rhetorical. But i protest) If so, WHY??
Sadly, the answer for it is beyond my comprehension.
Feminists might disagree with me, but the facts suggest otherwise. Anyway, i came upon this article and it surely points the finger in the right direction. I consider myself fairly broad minded ( in terms if Western society... Sadly, broad-minded in terms of Indian society would get you only as far as allowing girls to have education) and even i can understand that apart from physiology, men and women are different psychologically. Their priorities, likes, dislikes, the decisions one would take in the same situation and an infinite more examples stand testimony.
It sure is true that the psyche is molded by the environment and maybe this build up of psyche over the millennia, about the idea if a Man and Woman, is its product. So if we change our environment (read as our society), Would it result in bridging the gap between Men and Women? Maybe or Maybe not.
But unless this gap is bridged, i feel that even with abundance of rights given to women and with all enablers in place, it would not make a serious dent. A bird can fly as long as it is willing to. Don't get me wrong. I am not asking for restriction of rights. By all means Men and Women are equal. They should have equal rights. What i am saying is, it is not fair that some of the Female Gender (going by the books's popularity, i would say most. But who am i to argue) should still be trapped in the Cinderella Complex whereas the rest want Rights that is contrary. To quote Uncle Ben "With Great Power comes great responsibilities". Its not fair to expect a Knight in Shining Armour and when one arrives call him a Male Chauvinist (or sometimes encouraged as Chivalry). Phew. It sure is confusing for me. Do not know how the other fellow poor male souls deal with these mixed signals.
For Equality to exist. Chivalry must die. Romance must die. The idea of Women as we know must die (also the idea of Men). A new idea should be born or Incepted
So as long as Men remain from Mars and Women from Venus, Equality would be a tough goal to achieve. Equality can only be achieved when there is a meeting of minds and my dear friends, right now they are alien to each other.
What can be done then? If you ask me, the immediate goal should be RESPECT. We should start by trying to respect the opposite sex even if you unable to understand them. As one of my friends posted, many of the usual eve teasers and roadside romeos had participated in the Rape protests. Wonder if they understand how much the had in common to the rapists. Respect Women and Understand them. And for the ladies. Don't dwell on Cinderella complex when you need change otherwise.
At last, If you are wondering why the bizarre title. Well, you can never be too sure about being politically correct and this topic IS a Minefield. Prevention is better then cure. Better you than someone else smacking the head.
So to conclude.
Moral of the story : PLEASE AVOID THE TWILIGHT SAGA AT ALL COSTS.
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