Life Desk :
The scene opens with a woman setting a work deadline for her junior colleague in office. After initial reluctance, the man falls in line and proceeds to finish the job. As night descends, the boss leaves for home. On her way back, she calls up her husband asking what he would like to have for dinner. She calls up again after preparing the delicacies – and this time it’s revealed that the husband is no other than her colleague in the office.
She tries to tempt him to come home early with a four-course meal she has cooked for him. As soon as the commercial was on air, it sparked social media conversations as to whether it is encouraging stereotypes. Objections were raised primarily on two counts: one, for an underlying misogyny as a woman, even when she is better placed professionally, is portrayed as a home-maker; and two, another cliche, for forwarding the old, traditional notion that if you want to win over your husband, then go the gastronomical way.
Almost simultaneously comes another piece of news. This one from France, a land which had seen the birth of the feminist movement as we know it today. It says that after shocking the world in the 1960s by baring their breasts on the beach, French women now prefer to cover themselves. Though the reasons may range from threat of skin cancer to fear of indiscreet photographs ending up on social networks, it in no smaller way marks the perception that topless sunbathing has nothing to do with women’s liberation. Interestingly, it’s the younger women who are going all covered, while those in the 50s still prefer being topless at the beach.
Freedom At Last
The two incidents may look starkly different, but they have a common link – that women no longer want to see themselves in the reflection of men. That they are getting comfortable with who they are. That they don’t find it disadvantageous being women. Agnello Dias, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Taproot India, the agency responsible for the Airtel campaign, defends the ad. “Freedom is when a woman is free to decide exactly what she would like to do and how many roles she would like to play.
It is really up to her and no one else.” Sociologist Shiv Vishwanathan agrees. “I can’t understand the controversy. In the ad, the wife is the boss and the husband does not have any problem with the situation, so what is the complication? There a lot of such cases in India. So what, if she comes back home to cook for him?” asks Vishwanathan. “This is how the new seesaw marriage operates,” explains Hana Rosin, the author of The End of Men. “Today, couples are not chasing justice and fairness as measured by some external yardstick of gender equality. What they are after is individual self-fulfilment.”
Getting Ahead
For years, a feminine movement has been all about catching up with men. Now in the post-industrial society wherein men derive no benefit from size and strength, it’s advantage women. “A service and information economy rewards precisely the oppose qualities – the one that can’t be easily replaced by a machine. These attributes – social intelligence, open communication, the ability to sit still and focus – come easily to women,” says Rosin.
So, what does Airtel ad show? That the gender dynamics are fast changing. And since the focus is hardly about catching up with men, women do what they like. They can act as bosses in offices when they want. And they cook if they have time. As Santosh Desai says, “It’s the first time we got to see a representation of the wife as the boss. You would expect discussion about it. And that’s what is happening.”
– India Today
