Originally posted by: Heisenberg.
The truth is we objectify people all the time, anyone we find attractive we objectify, straight men objectify women, straight women objectify men, lesbians objectify other women, gay men objectify men.
When we see an attractive woman or man, we see them as objects of our attraction at that moment, we don't really care at that moment in time that they are a complex human being with feelings and emotions, with problems and troubles, anymore than the random people and homeless people we walk past everyday without showing a care of concern that they are a complex biological organism with intellectual and emotional capacities.
Just take the level of objectification that happens here, actors and actresses are scrutinised threadbare purely on the basis of their physical characteristics, they are dissected, mocked, made fun of, ridiculed and dehumanised on the basis of their looks and sexuality, they are reduced to nothing more than a bunch of physical traits and body parts, aren't they also complex human beings with feelings and emotions who deserve the respect and dignity that you want for yourself?, where is the feminist outrage then?, they only seem to appear when it suits them... the usual excuse here is that since they are public figures and earn money on the basis of their looks, then they have the right to criticise and mock as much as they want... you say that just cause a person shoots some provocative magazine ads, it doesn't mean that they can be objectified 24/7, but people do that here all the time, actors and actresses get objectified even in candid shots with fans, or any pictures taken outside of their professional life, again mocking, bashing, fawning on the basis of their physical characteristics, so feminist principles go for a hike when you wanna indulge in a bit of bashing for entertainment.
Ofcourse, culture needs to change for the better, and I see change occurring in India, albeit slowly, but it's a positive sign, and a steo in the right direction. But I don't see how selling yourself as a sex product is helping anything, it's just doing more damage atm, it's like a house is on fire and you wanna add more fuel to it.
We all objectify people we find attractive. That is why I don't think objectification in itself is wrong. A lot of time that's our most interaction with them - a few fleeting moments of objectification. At some point though the normal person acknowledges that the other person is a human and needs to be treated as such.
I admit there is a lot of hypocrisy here in the forums. We do treat celebrities as pieces of flesh and objects of entertainment. I am guilty of it too. TOI publishes a video focusing on cleavage because we as a society form a culture that consumes the celebrity as a product disregarding the fact that they are human.
There has to be some line though. I don't know where the line exactly should be. I definitely think when a reputed news source resorts to sleazy voyeurism, things have gone too far. A few anonymous user id's on a forum dissecting a celebrities looks aren't as significant as a mainstream newspaper. That is not an excuse for the individual though. If we really are outraged about the issue, the least we can do is try to be aware of how we ourselves view celebrities.
The fact remains though that what TOI did was out of bounds. A journalist should not be a voyeur waiting for a wardrobe malfunction or revealing footage. I think we should be able to unanimously reject such journalism at the very least, irrespective what we feel about the celebrity.
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Seher Hone Ko Hai
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