The minute they see a girl with excessively kajal lined eyes with a love for any kind of jewelry that’s tarnished silver who will not step out of her cotton kurtas, they’re quick to stereotype her as a pseudo, generally followed by, “the FabIndia Type” (a term coined by a friend of mine whom I don’t talk to now, for obvious reasons)for those of you who are wondering where I’m going with this.
For the lesser initiated, the FabIndia girl is also believed to be as a pseudo-intellectual, a definite smoker and is a hardcore feminist. Although I do tend to agree that I’m one of them, partially if not entirely, but there’s a lot more to a girl than what she chooses to wear and how she chooses to think. To any girl for that matter.
So yes, she may have an undying love for some things offbeat, but no one would raise a question if she giggled along, wearing pink in all its glory. It is really unfair how we brand people and don’t bother cracking past the brittle exterior.
So what if she likes to drink once in a while. Is it really worth talking about? So what if most of her friends are guys- how difficult is it to just see it for what it is- just a platonic friendship? Instead, people raise eyebrows, give that unmistakably judgmental look, essentially painting a picture of an immature society and rightly so. At the risk of sounding like a feminist, how difficult is it to break out of those set mindsets and realize that these women are no different from any other. They are proud of the choices they make and stand by their decisions. Instead of focusing on the entire hoopla that surrounds the so called ‘questionable character’ of these women, let’s give them some credit for finding a foothold in what is still largely and sadly a male dominated world. And while we’re at it, also applaud those men, who frankly are mature enough and have the balls to accept it.
And then there are those who think it’s all a façade, a false pretence to prove their worth.
What beats me is, how difficult is it, really, to accept these women as just ordinary women with a strong sense of who they are? Instead of recognizing their worth, the society largely is quick to run them down as wannabes, overtly ambitious, frankly it’s beyond repulsive. Maybe I’m beginning to sound like the chorus of a song, but it’s probably because half the world has forgotten that we’re still women at the end of the day. Smoking a cigarette does take off the edge momentarily, but heartbreaks are still as painful they used to be, financial independence is great, but what’s greater is having your work recognized, for and ambition definitely flows alongside, much like the alcohol on those occasional crazy nights, where all one wants to do is let their hair down and have some genuine, unadulterated fun! And much like any other person, we do make mistakes. Many of us would like to settle down someday and many of us wouldn’t, so instead of judging them, accept them as strong independent women with their intensely independent lifestyles.
And although they may throw caution to the wind, they’re fiercely protective of the world they’ve built for themselves, and rightly so, for decisions don’t come easy and an uphill climb is never a breezy walk.
