We can’t pretend to be shocked by the Instagram group chats of young, potential rapists.
There is a consumer base for rape videos in India, remember?
The NGO, India Child Protection Fund (ICPF) reported in April that consumption of child pornography content in India spiked by over 95 per cent amid lockdown. That there was an increase in searches for terms like “child porn,” “sexy child” and “teen sex videos.”
That is why a few years back, we saw processions in support of the rapists and murderers of an eight year old child.
So no female body is beyond violation or slut shaming.
Rahul Gandhi’s mother was recently abused by a trending vulgar acronym on Twitter.
She is also repeatedly trolled as a, “bar dancer.” And images of actress Ursula Andress who starred in the James Bond film Dr No, have been passed off as hers.
Kapil Mishra jovially cracked a joke about the incarcerated, pregnant activist Safoora Zargar while others laughingly speculated on Twitter about how she must have gotten pregnant.
Rape threats are issued openly and fearlessly to women on public forums. And ‘feminazis’ often jeered at for not having a sense of humour.
Remember also the comment, “Apne kabhi dekha hai 50 crore ka girlfriend?”
Or the public appeal , ‘‘take Muslim women out of their graves and rape them’’?
Remember how we collectively shrugged when such comments were made?
So no, let us not feign shock that so many young boys feel no empathy or respect for women. That they sexualise, objectify and dehumanise them.
This is learnt behaviour.
They have learnt that ministers watching porn in parliament can be reelected.
That God men, politicians and their sons can treat women like commodities and get away with it.
That rape only makes news when a rape victim sets herself on fire or is set on fire. Or when it is so gruesome that it must be taken note of.
They hear terms like “Kudiyon ka laga hai buffet,” in hit Yo Yo Honey Singh’s songs and know that romance is passe.
They cheer when a ‘hero’ in a runaway hit demands intimacy at knife point.
They may also read family chats where uncles crack sexist jokes .
That a generation of young boys thinks, gender violence is a fun, male bonding sport should not surprise us.
Where are the leaders and role models that they can look up to and emulate?
In which version of our proud Indian nation, are men taught the meaning of consent? Or brought up to police their minds rather than appropriate female bodies?
Shock is an exaggerated response. We live and breathe in a Bois Locker Room. And everyone is complicit.
There is a consumer base for rape videos in India, remember?
The NGO, India Child Protection Fund (ICPF) reported in April that consumption of child pornography content in India spiked by over 95 per cent amid lockdown. That there was an increase in searches for terms like “child porn,” “sexy child” and “teen sex videos.”
That is why a few years back, we saw processions in support of the rapists and murderers of an eight year old child.
So no female body is beyond violation or slut shaming.
Rahul Gandhi’s mother was recently abused by a trending vulgar acronym on Twitter.
She is also repeatedly trolled as a, “bar dancer.” And images of actress Ursula Andress who starred in the James Bond film Dr No, have been passed off as hers.
Kapil Mishra jovially cracked a joke about the incarcerated, pregnant activist Safoora Zargar while others laughingly speculated on Twitter about how she must have gotten pregnant.
Rape threats are issued openly and fearlessly to women on public forums. And ‘feminazis’ often jeered at for not having a sense of humour.
Remember also the comment, “Apne kabhi dekha hai 50 crore ka girlfriend?”
Or the public appeal , ‘‘take Muslim women out of their graves and rape them’’?
Remember how we collectively shrugged when such comments were made?
So no, let us not feign shock that so many young boys feel no empathy or respect for women. That they sexualise, objectify and dehumanise them.
This is learnt behaviour.
They have learnt that ministers watching porn in parliament can be reelected.
That God men, politicians and their sons can treat women like commodities and get away with it.
That rape only makes news when a rape victim sets herself on fire or is set on fire. Or when it is so gruesome that it must be taken note of.
They hear terms like “Kudiyon ka laga hai buffet,” in hit Yo Yo Honey Singh’s songs and know that romance is passe.
They cheer when a ‘hero’ in a runaway hit demands intimacy at knife point.
They may also read family chats where uncles crack sexist jokes .
That a generation of young boys thinks, gender violence is a fun, male bonding sport should not surprise us.
Where are the leaders and role models that they can look up to and emulate?
In which version of our proud Indian nation, are men taught the meaning of consent? Or brought up to police their minds rather than appropriate female bodies?
Shock is an exaggerated response. We live and breathe in a Bois Locker Room. And everyone is complicit.
**Reema Moudgil
Graphic courtesy: The Indian Express