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| Just the fact that I could find thousands of pictures with guys ogling at girls but just one with the other way round speaks enough. Enough said! Now lemme stare! (Picture credit: Telegraph) |
Okay, I am lying. It wasn’t pinched. It was a handful of
grabbing, squeezing my butt cheek. Like it were the new-found official horn that
a man had to honk in order to declare his manhood had arrived.
...and I did nothing. Don’t get me wrong. I am usually not
one of those to stay quiet (Not even when asked to, sometimes!). But for that
one moment, I was surprisingly warped in the speechlessness that came with an
instant realization of being the ‘fairer sex’. As I regained my ground, I
yelled at him in high pitch to come back, at which he turned and flashed a grin
as he and his bike faded into dust. My friend walking next to me
asked in a casually cautious tone, “what happened?” But her eyes revealed she
was just trying to confirm what she already knew.
That evening, as I walked back home after a hard run at the
park, I realized him grabbing my tushie wasn’t the worst part at all. It was when I found myself sub-consciously turning into the corner every time a
bike went past me; it was when I frequently looked back to check if he’s coming
again, trying to remember the faint red of his T-shirt. It was when for that
ugly iota of a second, I considered the possibility that it was a wrong idea to go for a run late
evening to begin with; if my pants were too snug a fit; if two girls 10 minutes
away from home at 7.30 p.m is not a good move at all.
But does this mean I should grab every opportunity of doubt
I get and pounce at every guy with disdain and lack of trust?
On a usual day, I am the girl who never asks for a ladies’
seat from guys sitting already. I am the girl who never screams at guys who
mistakenly enter in the women’s compartment in metro. I am the girl who doesn’t
create a scene the second there is an unknown touch in a crowded
bus, instead trying to justify the validity of the crowd (or his intentions).
Yes, I do face occasional ‘unpleasant’ encounters in between like every other
woman, but that usually doesn’t deter me from believing the world needs more of
the hopeful breed and less of scepticism.
And after all, what’s the alternative? To go around looking
at everyone with apathy? Go all ‘feminist’ on them? Because from what I
remember, feminism is not about superiority or a privileged status for women or
just one sex. It strives and fights for equality of sexes, not superiority of
one. And men have as much right to feel offended, vulnerable or much rather,
angry. But instances like this make one question everything right to the basics-
Is this really worth it?
Hours later, I was at my cousin’s with my (not so) little
brother. She went to get cola for us, leaving two of us alone in the room.
Before I could put a filter on my thoughts, I was already asking my brother
point blank, “Have you indulged in eve-tease ever?” I could see he was a bit
flustered with this kind of question coming from his elder sister.
“No, never.” “I may court girls, flirt with them if the
situation permits but always within the limits of respect.”
Nodding, I was relieved. One more person to restore the balance.
