-- Brian Mendonça
At
a venue in Goa, various colleges were presenting models to strut the ramp for a
fashion show as part of a youth fest. One college chose to highlight 3 avatars
which – the announcer burbled – were the reigning icons of the youth. The three which smoked the stage were the
nerd, the slut and the stud.
The
nerd was castigated for being bookish, poring over his tomes. The slut -- a
shapely girl in a mini, contorting her attributes for full effect – sashayed to
aspersions about her character. And the stud – there were two of them– strutted
around for fair game, ready to spill their seed. If the purpose of education is
to ennoble, it seemed to be having the opposite effect.
The
nerd refers to a person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious.* A
slut is a slovenly or promiscuous woman. What was hard to understand, was that
the girl was enjoying her role. Seeking to please, she slithered her way across
the stage and basked in the cynosure of all eyes. A stud is a sexually active
or virile young man. As they took position, both studs glanced at the slut who
was posing by the side of the nerd -- but looked at the audience for bigger
game.
So
this was the matrix which operated among some of our youth. This was their world -- with sex as the great
equalizer –and a human being reduced to a piece of meat. If intimacy was there
for the taking, why should anyone ask for a by-your-leave? If what was forbidden
was ready and available, why have qualms of conscience? If the purpose of an
education – studying – was held up to ridicule, why study?
The
implications of this attitude spell national disaster since India has more than
50% of its population below the age of 25. In 2020 the average age of an Indian
is estimated to be 29 years (2011 estimates).
Later
on, in a question round, a contestant was asked ‘Who is responsible for rape of a girl – society, the government, or the
girl?’ His answer was ‘Everyone – but the girl.’ So, on the one hand, it’s cool
for teens to be hot, on the other hand society is also responsible for a
heinous act.
Teens
are tweens. They are neither children nor adults. As such, many don’t feel culpable
or responsible for or to society. When a human being is viewed as an object and
commodified, the self loses its sanctity.
It
is the discourse – communication of thought by words -- of society which
assigns value for an act. Sadly, just as 2013 rolled in, the incident spawned a
joke. A fact-finding team is sent to Goa. ‘Are there any molestations in Goa?’
the team asks. The reply is, ‘We have Margao station, Karmali station, Pernem
station, no molestation.’ That naivete is history now. So is our attitude to
women.
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*Most
meanings from Concise Oxford English
Dictionary, 11th
edition. Article published in Gomantak Times Weekender (Panjim, Goa), Sunday 17 February, 2013. Pix source: Thisnext
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