Posts this week will most likely be short and less insightful than usual since it’s my last week at home. This means that I have a lot preparation for not only my departure from Jakarta but also for my arrival in Toronto.
For the Skule documentary work is finally getting started, interviews will most likely be happening next week along with script writing. It seems like the rough times of looking for funding and trying to figure out logistical details are behind us and the fun part of actually doing the work and making a film are here!
Today an YouTube channel TVF posted a satirical video on the issue of marital rape. The Indian constitution doesn’t acknowledge marital rape the video titled, “how I raped your mother” took a cynical and satirical take at this. Of course the title is very preposterous and sure enough it made most people very uncomfortable and lead to them exclaiming that this video was too much. Unfortunately even after watching the video most comments from the lovely “meninists” of India focused on how misandry was taking over the country and how the rights of precious men raping women all over the country were being squandered. Their angst comes in part from being uneducated about what feminism is. They’ve been told that feminism means women taking over the world and they argue that men being raped is as much of an issue as women getting raped is. However they forget that the idea of feminism is based on equality, and also taking away the negative connotations associated with feminity whether in a man or a woman. They complain that men face the issues of always having to be manly and body image and don’t realize that, that is EXACTLY what feminism is trying to handle. But that is giving them the benefit of doubt, most probably their precious male egos are trodden with guilt of having taken part in that very oppression every day of their lives, and are intimidated by the idea of women being equal to men.
Anyways what these comment sections never fail to do is inspire me. Inspire the angry feminist in me and wonder how much of an activist I would be if I lived in India. It also inspired me raise more awareness on the subconscious biases that we face on a regular basis; from calling girls who don’t meet our pre concieved motions of what a typical girl in engineering looks like a slut to saying people who have ADD/ADHD are pretending just to get the aderall. I hope to work to reduce these biases in atleast UofT and I’m working with EWB to figure something out. Let’s see how this goes.
Last week at home is always a bit rough, with the sorrow of leaving colliding with the excitement of the opportunities that lie on the other end. The melancholia takes over during this week and perhaps even contributed a bit to me being sick yesterday. This week will be bittersweet but such times are what keep living so interesting.
Ramblings of a pseudo-intellectual 