Comments on: Reality Bites

By: Ritesh Reddy

Ritesh Reddy — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:38:00 +0000

Blame Disney! Ol’ Walt probably knew full well the extent of damage his fare would wreck on modern society and must have had a laugh the whole while. He must have had the backing of the clergy who were happy to patronize media that would advocate such stereotyping and role play. If you ask me, monogamy is a norm that is peddled by religion since a certain someone came running down the hill with the holy grail and both genders have been suffering the indignity ever since. But it makes sense doesn’t it? The sexual repression that arises makes people easier to control. Most sexually liberated folk would want little to do with moralistic codes thrust upon them in the name of conformity and mediocrity. We grow up being conditioned by not just fairy tales but also parents and peers of that one single ‘Mr. Right’ or ‘the right girl’, that the uniqueness of an individual is overshadowed. Instead each gender resigns to playing the role to his/her best successfully killing the real character beneath. Break free..

By: Bhavita

Bhavita — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:08:00 +0000

Gender and sexuality stereotypes are reflected in fairy tales as well…sad isn’t it…we grew up on them and till date I love fairy tales. Life isn’t the same without magic and fantasy…gender stereotypes are unfortunately deeply rooted within the societal subconscious whether it’s saas-bahu soaps, mainstream media or hell, yes even fairy tales. Very good read, thanks Shoumeli. Through education and the right role models in society, things should start changing.

By: Shoumeli

Shoumeli — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:46:00 +0000

Poulomi – Very true. Its very interesting to study how the tales told to children have such a strong psychological impact on them, and how most of us chose to ignore it. Gender and sexuality stereotypes are things that really need to be dealt with a lot of sensitivity and most parents/teachers chose to ignore it.

Thanks so much for the encouragement!

By: Poulomi Bhadra

Poulomi Bhadra — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Interesting read,Shoms. I think it is time new stories made their way into the formatory lives of children. Just the other day, I was watching a similar cover story done on some Bangla news channel,but of course it dealt with a different aspect. It was how our innate fears during our growing years, and even later, stem from the stories our mothers and grandmoms tell us, with the same intent -to instill fear in us to force us to do/not do something. Like you know —- eat this or the tiger will get you, don’t go there the ghost will get you etc etc. We don’t know how telling all this to a child affects his/her attitude in the identity forming years of growth. Glad that people, doctors and educationists alike, are waking up to this new side. Hopefully, we’ll have better tales to tell our kids.
As for the article, great job done there girl. Good to see you are taking this ahead, best wishes with that!