harassment Archives

#Throwback 2018: What We Thought of the #MeToo Movement

The revelation that “the woke” didn’t shy away from being predators behind closed doors and mobile screens was the catalyst for India’s #MeToo movement. Here are extracts from some of our best essays on the subject.

Arré Bench July 16, 2016

Culture

The Last Jedi is 2017 in a Nutshell

Star Wars isn’t about aliens fighting each other with fluorescent tube lights and spaceships blowing each other up. There’s nuance behind all that CGI, and themes that ensure The Last Jedi is a fine example of art imitating life.

Damian D'souza July 16, 2016

Gender

Why Bollywood Will Never Have Its #MeToo Moment

Unlike Hollywood, the workings of Bollywood rely heavily on intricate filmi family and friends route. To be an actress in Bollywood, and to speak out against one of its own, is to risk one’s career. For every allegation against Jeetendra and Nana Patekar, there are thousands that we hear nothing about.

Poulomi Das July 9, 2016

Pop Culture

15 Years After Britney Sang About It, Why “Toxic” is Oxford’s Word of the Year

Fifteen years ago, Britney Spears made a frothy pop song about a toxic relationship. Today, in the era of #MeToo, the word has a very different connotation. It was so much in vogue over the last year that Oxford English Dictionary anointed it 2018’s Word of the Year.

Kahini Iyer June 8, 2016

Gender

Hey Mister, How Long is Your… Spine?

It is nice to meet a man who plays the guitar, or reads Kafka, or travels the world. But that’s every other guy today. What is special, is to see a man who can get a male friend to back off, when he is making a woman uncomfortable. It’s nice to see a man with a spine.

Sugandha May 17, 2016

POV

Why Has #MeToo Scared Every Man

Instead of looking at the positives of the #MeToo movement, I actively tried to pinpoint its imperfections – by focussing on legal loopholes or that one woman who made a false accusation on Twitter. I started finding reasons to convince myself that there was something wrong with the movement. But why was I making excuses for sexual harassers?

Hardik Rajgor April 14, 2016

Gender

Beware of the Brocialist

In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, there is a new species of men to study: Brocial-ists. Dudes who are supposedly woke and espouse the right kind of politics, but are utter douchebags to women.

Apoorva Sripathi April 11, 2016

Pop Culture

Koffee With Karan: Hardik Pandya Isn’t a “Brat”, He is an Outright Misogynist

There’s no denying that the old relationship between cricket and courteousness had become archaic. But after the latest Koffee with Karan episode, which featured Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul on the couch, it might have finally died for good.

Kahini Iyer April 7, 2016

POV

“Wear Indian Dress”: Reactions to Bangalore Man’s Video Shows that the Time of the Moral Police Might Be Over

The outrage at the man who confronted a woman because she was wearing shorts shows that even though people who still believe in archaic notions like “proper Indian dress code” exist, their views are finding fewer and fewer takers.

Dushyant Shekhawat March 26, 2016

Pop Culture

Why House of Cards is Better Off Without Kevin Spacey

Netflix’s House of Cards began the march towards its finale with its lead actor markedly absent. Kevin Spacey has become persona non grata in a way other men accused of harassment, like Louis CK, have managed to avoid. It’s hopefully a sign of things to come.

Dushyant Shekhawat March 24, 2016