The grating old saying, has been used so much in Indian movie dialogues that it's become threadbare; it runs hollow now. Logical, practical, rational, realistic...gift wrap it with any shiny cover, it still grates. Should there be a thorn at all!
But the fact remains that the female of any species was the one made to receive. The males have been designed to showcase vanity and flamboyance. I agree it's a generalisation; but then so is 'the female is the deadlier of the species'! Enough of animal kingdom. I want to focus on the most sophisticated creation. The man and the woman.
In the wake of daily reports of rape and sexual abuse sharing column space with Indian politics, how early do we teach our sons never to impose? We will definitely teach our daughters to lay down their limits and not let anyone push it. There's no dithering there.
Every boy should grow up knowing that a girl is a person made different from him; and that too for a reason. The reason that makes the world go around! The simple equation of civilised existence.
Today the advertisements show well maintained mums playing basketball and winning as opposed to them winning beauty pageants earlier. There are grandmother types lamenting the lack of freedom in their times while watching their granddaughter juggle her jet setting career and a husband who cannot find his own shirt or socks; I forget which!!!
The prototypes are changing. The boys are having to dig deep to find their soft side while perfecting their six pack abs. While the women are at ease thumping board room tables and defining company policies, the men are wondering if 'she' would like it if he added pomegranate to the salad for the night's dinner. It's a renaissance inside the Indian man's head. The Indian woman (the urban one at least!) has already ingested the change as easily as accepting that saris and jogging shoes don't go well together.
If we are to make a difference, we should work on the generation that's pushing its head up though the soil. If a girl bends it like Beckham, get her fitted football jerseys. And if a boy likes to make friendship bands; let's get him some more coloured skeins. And to flip the dosa, if a girl likes to spend hours braiding her dolls' hair or a boy dismantles his expensive car within seconds, shouldn't we let them?! As long as the boys' hands take apart only dolls and not living beings, we are doing good as parents. And as soon as a little girls' obsession with Barbie dimensions start showing in her eating habits, it's time to click our heels and get into combat mode! The trick lies in being inclusive and teaching them respect. A breeze isn't it?!
Let's teach our girls well and protect our boys from having to lug the burden of false machismo!
