French philosopher Michel Foucault said body and sexuality are cultural constructs and he couldnt have been more right! By the way there is a craze for well-toned, muscular (for men) and "size zero" (for women) which by the way is dangerous to life, one could understand the obessession with the body.
Personally though I feel its best to be as natural as possible. Yes some of us tend to be more blessed with fat than others and the attempt should be to stay at optimum weight according to age and all. But the chase to be the 'thinnest of them all' doesnt help. I know several friends who in dire need to lose weight push themselves too hard causing grave danger to their life. But over-blessed friends have time and again narrated the heartwrenching experiences of being stared at, mocked for their weight and always being the butt of all jokes! One of them told me, "these days I crack jokes on my weight before someone else does. That way I still seem to have control over what is said about me. Not that it hurts any less!"
Interestingly, this is a serious concern among men, all of whom are intimidated by the Hrithiks and Salmans. Being muscular isnt being masculine, now is it? This is why I think I truly enjoyed seeing Ranbir Kapoor in Saawariya as a simple boy falling in love rather than some muscular dude (which is good I must admit, but not a prerequisite) who danced awesome and wooed the girl. People around us arent really those bronzed men, roaming shirtless on the streets, are they? Which is why I feel Imran Khan also may make a mark for himself because its just overdose of muscular men on screen. Yes, I believe in heroes and superheroes but when AB fought 10 goons alone in the 70s, I believed that too. I think a sincere attempt will do.
So while its always great to work on one's bodies, never is to be forgotten that well-toned bodies make a good first impression. Thats it! After that, it has to be who you truly are that will take the story forward. So take heart friends and if people keep telling you "oh my you are sooo skinny/ you have put on weight!" reply them as I do "Isnt that amazing. Dont I look smashing" Most people (out of diplomacy) will smile and wonder why you didnt feel bad.
And you will have the last laugh :)
Friday, June 20, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
In the Name of God ....
Its only once in a while you come across a well meaning and well executed film and Khuda Ke Liye stands true on both accounts.
An exceptional film because its a simple story well told. And what better backdrop than music. The journey of the two brothers Mansoor and Sarmad is so unpredictable because at one level when you watch the film you think you know whats going to happen but then it takes a total turn and leaves you fatigued in your heart. Because anything that comes to the real leaves you wondering. And the film does come close to the real. Be the elder brother's experience of racial profiling or the younger brother's path to religious rigidism. The director's depiction of the younger brother's wife's struggle struck a chord. Even in her helplessness he manages to show how her spirit doesnt die ever!
The first film from a filmmaker in Pakistan to release in India in 43 years, this one sure is a honest and sincere attempt to look at the issues that seem to riddle the youth and that actually be across faiths. But the definite questions of Islamic identity, being a Muslim in the post 9/11 world, bearing markers of Islam - beard, doing the namaz or even having a Muslim name (which even the film Aamir shows well) are at least brought to question.
It has been my desire to know the Pakistan version to any issue and this film at least gave me an opportunity to see one man's vision. And I surely am glad that Khuda Ke Liye they let the film run in the theatres without interruption :)
An exceptional film because its a simple story well told. And what better backdrop than music. The journey of the two brothers Mansoor and Sarmad is so unpredictable because at one level when you watch the film you think you know whats going to happen but then it takes a total turn and leaves you fatigued in your heart. Because anything that comes to the real leaves you wondering. And the film does come close to the real. Be the elder brother's experience of racial profiling or the younger brother's path to religious rigidism. The director's depiction of the younger brother's wife's struggle struck a chord. Even in her helplessness he manages to show how her spirit doesnt die ever!
The first film from a filmmaker in Pakistan to release in India in 43 years, this one sure is a honest and sincere attempt to look at the issues that seem to riddle the youth and that actually be across faiths. But the definite questions of Islamic identity, being a Muslim in the post 9/11 world, bearing markers of Islam - beard, doing the namaz or even having a Muslim name (which even the film Aamir shows well) are at least brought to question.
It has been my desire to know the Pakistan version to any issue and this film at least gave me an opportunity to see one man's vision. And I surely am glad that Khuda Ke Liye they let the film run in the theatres without interruption :)
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Beauty on Duty
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. And I argue that this eye is constructed by varied economic, social, political, national and global discourses on what defines beauty, how is it to be enhanced and appreciated and enables you to participate in the global economy of beauty.
Locating beauty work in the concept of body work, it needs to be noted that body work is performed to care, cure, give sexual pleasure and decorate the body via the body of the worker through touch and close proximity. Hence masseurs, bar girls, escorts, undertakers, prostitutes, beauticians, dentists, nannies, midwives, tattooists, mortuary workers, yoga instructors, shoe salesmen, nurses and doctors are all body workers.
Many kinds of body work are seen as humiliating. Historically these works were done within specific personal relations like marriage, even caring for the patient occurred within the family. In India, historically much of body work was done within caste occupations like barbers. Now body work has entered the market and hence apparently anyone can do it. Moreover we also see a change in the definition of the body. Earlier intimate relations allowed for touch between bodies and since this occurred within the family, it was not seen as work. Now it is believed that these bodily contacts can take place between two strangers, in the market relations as well.
I did a small survey about beauty parlours and bigger beauty clinics and conclude that firstly, using the Gramscian point of view, the women in the beauty industry are not dopes of beauty who are there only because of some structural forces at play, without realizing that they are being duped. Rather they exercise their agency and choose to be in it. They understand the structure, enter it and negotiate their way through it. Hence we recognize women in the beauty industry as agential subjects who may be participating in the hegemony.
Moreover, as the beauty care providers move from the private to the public, new types of hierarchies may be reconstituted. Even as the association of certain castes to body work comes to be altered and new groups enter the profession, it doesn’t mean an end to the hierarchies. Even for the new entrants in the field, the point of entry is often determined by their social location and privileged classes and castes enter the industry at higher levels only.
Further, it needs to be recognized that women in beauty work actually require skill and it isn’t just about engaging in vanity. The work these women do is extremely skilled and requires soft but deft hands. To deny them this skill would be to fall prey to the popular notions that “Vanity thy name is woman!”
It also needs to be recognized that women bring innovation to their working spaces. They show their skill and industriousness in terms of decorating the limited spaces within which they work to make it look customer-friendly, in terms of decorating their own bodies to look neat and in terms of developing excellent public relations skills to attract and retain to customers.
Hence I argue that though hegemonization occurs, we don’t see a complete victimization as there are constant negotiations within that hegemonization and also that some of the actors do remain outside the victim framework. Hence, I beg to differ from many of the popular discourses that either seek to dismiss beauty work as being vain and duping the non-critical masses or else celebrate it as empowering women. Such binaries make us lose out on the agential roles women play in marking out their spaces even as they understand their work differentially from popular discourses.
Therefore I choose to look at women in beauty work as a choice the women make inspite of knowing that the choices themselves may be constructed. These choices do open up possibilities for the women engaging in them in terms of offering them livelihood options or actually leading to their empowerment even if in a restricted sense. Moreover they also recognize that this has been a result of the global economy of beauty thus indicating that they are aware of the larger socio-political scenario that they are part of and participate in the beauty industry knowingly.
And it gives us ample chance to smile at a sign at a barber’s saloon in Mumbai that reads:
“We need your heads to run our business!”
Locating beauty work in the concept of body work, it needs to be noted that body work is performed to care, cure, give sexual pleasure and decorate the body via the body of the worker through touch and close proximity. Hence masseurs, bar girls, escorts, undertakers, prostitutes, beauticians, dentists, nannies, midwives, tattooists, mortuary workers, yoga instructors, shoe salesmen, nurses and doctors are all body workers.
Many kinds of body work are seen as humiliating. Historically these works were done within specific personal relations like marriage, even caring for the patient occurred within the family. In India, historically much of body work was done within caste occupations like barbers. Now body work has entered the market and hence apparently anyone can do it. Moreover we also see a change in the definition of the body. Earlier intimate relations allowed for touch between bodies and since this occurred within the family, it was not seen as work. Now it is believed that these bodily contacts can take place between two strangers, in the market relations as well.
I did a small survey about beauty parlours and bigger beauty clinics and conclude that firstly, using the Gramscian point of view, the women in the beauty industry are not dopes of beauty who are there only because of some structural forces at play, without realizing that they are being duped. Rather they exercise their agency and choose to be in it. They understand the structure, enter it and negotiate their way through it. Hence we recognize women in the beauty industry as agential subjects who may be participating in the hegemony.
Moreover, as the beauty care providers move from the private to the public, new types of hierarchies may be reconstituted. Even as the association of certain castes to body work comes to be altered and new groups enter the profession, it doesn’t mean an end to the hierarchies. Even for the new entrants in the field, the point of entry is often determined by their social location and privileged classes and castes enter the industry at higher levels only.
Further, it needs to be recognized that women in beauty work actually require skill and it isn’t just about engaging in vanity. The work these women do is extremely skilled and requires soft but deft hands. To deny them this skill would be to fall prey to the popular notions that “Vanity thy name is woman!”
It also needs to be recognized that women bring innovation to their working spaces. They show their skill and industriousness in terms of decorating the limited spaces within which they work to make it look customer-friendly, in terms of decorating their own bodies to look neat and in terms of developing excellent public relations skills to attract and retain to customers.
Hence I argue that though hegemonization occurs, we don’t see a complete victimization as there are constant negotiations within that hegemonization and also that some of the actors do remain outside the victim framework. Hence, I beg to differ from many of the popular discourses that either seek to dismiss beauty work as being vain and duping the non-critical masses or else celebrate it as empowering women. Such binaries make us lose out on the agential roles women play in marking out their spaces even as they understand their work differentially from popular discourses.
Therefore I choose to look at women in beauty work as a choice the women make inspite of knowing that the choices themselves may be constructed. These choices do open up possibilities for the women engaging in them in terms of offering them livelihood options or actually leading to their empowerment even if in a restricted sense. Moreover they also recognize that this has been a result of the global economy of beauty thus indicating that they are aware of the larger socio-political scenario that they are part of and participate in the beauty industry knowingly.
And it gives us ample chance to smile at a sign at a barber’s saloon in Mumbai that reads:
“We need your heads to run our business!”
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