Yesterday I had the misfortune of walking the streets of Delhi with young and good looking women.
I had forgotten what the male gaze looked like. I had forgotten how to ignore it. I was unnerved at how these women were completely unmoved by it, while I was losing my mind. From boys to old men, all eyes were on us - how could these women not see what I saw?
I had all of the usual male reactions (which I suppressed with great effort). I wanted to chastise them for not dressing down. I wanted to tell them to get off the streets (We were walking around looking for addresses. While they were content with ambling around the place, I would have liked for them to just wait in one place while I did the hunting, and then escorted them). I wanted them to use the car rather than walk around. I wanted to drop them home rather than use public transport.
I did not want to address these men who were staring at us. Instead I wanted to exercise my (imaginary) agency over these women who I had only met once before, and barely knew.
मनाओ। आप लोग corporate Women's Day मनाओ।
I had forgotten what the male gaze looked like. I had forgotten how to ignore it. I was unnerved at how these women were completely unmoved by it, while I was losing my mind. From boys to old men, all eyes were on us - how could these women not see what I saw?
I had all of the usual male reactions (which I suppressed with great effort). I wanted to chastise them for not dressing down. I wanted to tell them to get off the streets (We were walking around looking for addresses. While they were content with ambling around the place, I would have liked for them to just wait in one place while I did the hunting, and then escorted them). I wanted them to use the car rather than walk around. I wanted to drop them home rather than use public transport.
I did not want to address these men who were staring at us. Instead I wanted to exercise my (imaginary) agency over these women who I had only met once before, and barely knew.
मनाओ। आप लोग corporate Women's Day मनाओ।