A young girl, freshly into her teens was watching TV. A home loan advert came on and that young girl had some observations: “Why are the two men sitting while the women stand and watch? Why are the two men signing all the papers and not the women? Why are the men dressed in shirts and trousers (western or modern wear) while the women are in saris (Indian/traditional wear)?”
Valid questions all. We and our impressionable kids watch these TV ads everyday without giving a thought to how they send out subliminal messages and cement pernicious gender stereotypes; shackling new generations into old and obsolete thought processes.
It's 2017, and our ads still have women washing the clothes and men who beat up the baddies while the women wait, wilting, to be rescued. Girls play with dolls; boys tinker with cars. Boys are strong, girls are gentle. While these are not all negative stereotypes; they do promote prejudice and regressive thinking.
If a little girl wants to play only with Legos and ignores the Barbie doll, shouldn’t she be free to do so? Equally if a little boy wants to play with dolls, will we shame him into playing only with what we call ‘gender appropriate’ toys for boys?
Yes, women are compassionate, loving and nurturing, but are born with the incredible strength and fortitude and innate abilities society cannot and must not define for them; a facet Reebok looks to accentuate. To get the message out, Reebok partnered with Kangana Ranaut –who spoke up about shoddy treatment from the film industry and rampant nepotism and came out fighting and feisty.
A new video by Reebok is for women who refuse to conform to societal expectations, with an innate confidence in their own abilities. It is an inspiration and a tribute to all those millions of strong, capable, talented women out there who manage to kick butt without physically kicking butt!
Hopefully, she doesn’t have to fight. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that -perhaps her inner strength and the belief she has in herself will win this day -so she can fight another day! Fight more, Be More! It’s about being a human first; before gendering comes into queer the pitch for us!
We all have stories of courage and personal strength to share. Sometimes situations bring out the best in us and make us rise to the occasion in ways we didn’t think ourselves capable of. If you or someone close to you had to fight to win, please share it on social media with the #FitToFight hashtag or write to us at [email protected]. You can also share similar stories in the comments section below - we would love to hear them!
-'This story is brought to you in association with Reebok'
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]
