Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Most Fucked-up Article I Have Read Recently

... and that's saying a lot.

So wives and girlfriends need to "beware of the maid" because a well-known actor raped his. How much worse can you get at blaming the victim? Maybe the fact that the alleged rapist is a popular and good-looking actor and the victim is just a domestic help has something to do with this?

Way to go, Kalpana Sharma and the Times of India. I don't have enough words to express my disgust.

Added later: And of course men don't fall in love with maids: they only want "headless, harmless women" to "explore".

15 comments:

Dr. Ally Critter said...

What kind of crap was SM Sharma spouting. I mean how can you write an article like that. Quoting bits form "Desperate Housewives" and so on. I remember reading apiece o Tazeen's blog about the "Ghetto of women's writing" and this sort of writing seem to push for that. Apart form being badly written , this article was the stupidest piece of crap i have read.

Dr. Ally Critter said...

Hey I wrote a letter to the editor. I wonder if they will publish it

Sir

I cannot imagine how appalled I am that national newspaper should publish a piece of misogynistic nonsense such as the piece above. I do not quite understand what the writer is trying to say, apart from how "men are led astray by domestic helps". This view is not only uber-elitist, but also ridiculous in its very essence a "victim-blaming " of sorts. She uses instances from Hollywood and popular soap operas to make that connection. This is not journalism, this is sensationalism. In this highly chauvinistic classist view she tries to absolve the wrong doer, the man and puts the blame on the victim. Only too often is this attitude reflected in a parochial patriarchal society- mush to the detriment of women everywhere. A piece like this in a leading national daily not only calls to question the editing that goes on, but also redecies th credibility of your other stories.

Unmana said...

Thanks, @lakr1ta. Though I don't think the TOI has much credibility to lose...

Sujeet Pillai said...

I know I'm being the odd 'man' out here, but I'm pretty pissed as well for different reason. It talks of men as being nothing but c&*#! Sorry for the expletive!

Well if I had a person with the writer's intelligence for a wife, I'd run away with the maid!

Stupid Shiney, screwing it for the rest of us (Pun unintended)

Unmana said...

Sujeet: You know, that's one problem with blaming women for crimes committed against them: it implies all men are potential rapists/criminals, who only lack opportunity.

The fact that one man raped someone doesn't imply all men are rapists. Some people are fucked up assholes - that doesn't mean we all are.

anja said...

I'm sick to my stomach. And a woman wrote this crap? 'Choose your maids carefully'..wtf? That is wrong on so many levels.

Aneela Z said...

My WTF moment was the dermatologist's take (Physician, heal thyself for sure!)on the issue, "cleavage showing, bending over" fantasies...some people should not aim to analyse anything more complicated than prickly heat...something tells me this was a "paid for" article, trying to swing public opinion, who knows.

Pallavi Sharma said...

Ewww, fucking bitch. Seems like her spouse or BF routinely explores... she's so used to it that she can't help but put it this way.
Sick!

Unmana said...

Anja: Indeed.

Aneela: Yes, that was appalling. I wonder how her opinion was of any relevance anyway: she might just have been trying to get quoted.

Pallu: That's a thought. But it's not her, you know. The Times of India published it (though I don't know if it's just up online or also in their paper edition). You can't expect much from the TOI, but still...

Sumedha said...

Oh yes, let's "choose our maids with care". Just in case, you know, the men in the house can't control themselves. So instead of choosing the men with care, lets just choose the maids with care.

You're right.. this is one of the most fucked up articles I've read recently.

Site manager said...

I am angry about this for all of the reasons mentioned above but it also makes me sad because while the article is beyond fucked up as were his actions and the way people are trying to point fingers in other directions to deflect blame.... there are a whole lot of people who are reading the article and think it is true and they will all be on the watch for the "good" help.

Unmana said...

Sumedha: Exactly. I wonder if any of them are thinking she should be punished for being raped by him.

Grail: Indeed. It's because such people exist that such an article could be written, that such comments were made by people quoted in it. And it's even more sad when you think about the fact that the domestic help in India are almost invariably underprivileged, uneducated (even illiterate) and exploited.

Dr. Ally Critter said...

They have not published the letter I wrote to them.

Unmana said...

@lankr1ta: I'm not really surprised!

Starry-eyed nut said...

The TOI article almost says that the actor's crime been lesser if the victim had been a woman banker, doctor or engineer....how can woman make rape a class issue? It's really disgusting...