Cultural mindsets can be a pain in the ass, but patriarchal society's views on what's "ideal" are being redefined through creativity.
Stereotypical views on the perfect brown (or any) woman are being ripped apart, steering women into a direction of badass empowerment.
Here are three instances where creativity confronts stereotypes and redefines the standards for the ideal South Asian woman.
1. Badass Indian Pinups & Badass Bahus
Photo Credits: www.nimishabhanot.com
“I think all women are badass. What makes the women in my paintings exceptionally badass is that they are free to be whatever and whoever they want to be,” Bhanot told Quartz India. “They’re (the portraitures) badass because they’re looking back at their viewer. This gaze maximises the subject’s confidence and that’s what my art is all about,” she said.
2. #NotYourDulhan
#NotYourDulhan by Reva Bhatt
Photo Credits: www.hybridhues.com
South Asian culture especially revolves around the pursuit of the perfect partner and the quintessential bride.
#NotYourDulhan explores three different women who take on the challenge of beating those "perfect dulhan" expectations and stereotypes that face brown girls. These women share common ground when it comes to "small acts of resistance" in redefining marriage.
One of the creators, Reva Bhatt, said, "#NotYourDulhan is about these women transcending beyond the guilt of choosing themselves by reclaiming a level of consciousness."
3. Fashion Inclusivity
AJIO showstoppers prove fashion isn't exclusive to cookie-cutter women.
Photo Credit: Instagram
Recognizing and understanding that fashion isn't exclusive to a certain type, five women were chosen to walk the runway at Lakmé Fashion Week as showstoppers for AJIO, an online clothing portal.
The showstoppers included transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi for the “gender no bar” category, veteran actress Helen for “age no bar,” comedian Bharti Singh for “size no bar,” Bollywood actress Sunny Leone for “choice no bar," and Suman Sharma, the first woman to fly a Russian MiG-35 fighter jet, for “career no bar.”
Main Image Photo Credits: www.hybridhues.com, www.ibnlive.com, www.nimishabhanot.com
#notyourdulhan, Badass, Bridal, Colour Of Your Skin, Colourism, Culture, Dulhan, Fair & Lovely, Fashion, India, Lakme Fashion Week, Modelling, Nimisha Bhanot, Pakistan, Pin-up Model, Sexuality, South Asian, Stereotypes, Sunny Leone, Trans Community, Women, Women Affairs, Women Empowerment
Nomaan Khan
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After spending some time in a completely different field, Nomaan decided to drop it all and switch to Mohawk College to pursue his longtime interest in the world of Journalism. His experience working in multimedia platforms has helped him develop exceptional skills in thinking on his feet, being ...
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