First the good News-a recent study from Britain reports that almost half its millionaires are women, that the gap between men and women millionaires are growing at a whopping 11 % a year.
Now for the bad news-a significant part of the raise in women's wealth has come from their marrying well , and divorcing better.Its a worrying trend as it gives credence to the belief that women succeed socially through the man they attach themselves to .It reinforces the myth that finding prince charming and marrying him is still a girl's best bet.And in case he turns out to be not-so-charming , that's even better !Taking the husband to the cleaners is also a viable career option.Despite the occasional bad press high maintenance women get , popular culture is still steeped in the princess syndrome and over the years it has got only worse.
In addition to older fairy tale heroines like Snow White , Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty who simply had to be passive and pretty , and get kissed by the right guy to succeed , girls are being fed newer and more insidious values via films such as The Princess Diaries and Mean Girls which despite their modern feel and look , perpetuate two abiding myths: One , beauty equals virtue and two , the reward for being beautiful and good is the 'Prince ' .And given that we live in a world of aggressive marketing it doesn't stop here.It is impossible to enter toy stores , or even a book shop without being deluged by princess -related merchandise.Books , , pencils , school bags , dolls and toy make up kits -princess ware is everywhere.On the surface it is a harmless profusion of pink in their lives , but is it ? Somewhere a avery regressive value system is being thrust on the unsuspecting girl child and it is time to pause and think .There are other role models available like pocahontas , the native american girl who stood by her people instead of following her man , and Mulan , a chinese heroine who fights the huns .Close home , there's Rani Laxmi Bai .Any takers ?
-Manjul Ballal ( A TOI excerpt)
Mother Theresa...?
ReplyDeleteTrouble with the world today is; being bad is good, bitchy is in, and being rich and famous beats everything else... Parents beat the hell out of their kids for failing exams, not for being mean or rude to their dim-witted uncle. There's no reward for being good anymore. You're rich, nobody questions where your dough comes from. We traded our value system for progress.
Moral of the story : Stop waiting for your Prince Charming to come and sweep you of your feet , Girls ! Give us frogs a chance too !
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