Sorry Deepika, But This Is How You Actually Fight Gender Stereotypes

NEW DELHI: By now, you must have seen the Vogue Empower "My Choice" video featuring Bollywood star Deepika Padukone. Whilst I am glad that India is waking up to the importance of women’s empowerment, I am saddened that we have -- yet again -- gotten it all wrong. Is women’s empowerment equal to choices without repercussions? Choices without reasonable limitations? Isn’t that what the women’s movement has been fighting against? The very fact that men feel that they are entitled to “their choice”? That “their choice” is absolute? Do we want to reduce feminism to an inversion of patriarchy? Isn’t feminism, instead, about responsibility, equality, compassion, consideration and yes -- choice, but choice with all those preceding attributes firmly entwined?

Before I digress into a rant on women’s empowerment and the Vogue Empower video’s insensitive and misleading handling of the subject, let me tell you what this post is actually about. Meet UK based cartoonist and illustrator Gemma Correll.

Correll, like Deepika is frustrated at the stereotypes used to portray women. She, too, is tired of a male-dominated society at large determining how women should act, think, feel, dress, behave, marry yadda yadda. In short, she too is frustrated at the lack of choice (or will) accorded to women in this world.

Unlike Deepika (okay we’re using Deepika here as a scapegoat; the whole team behind that video is culpable), Correll -- in making a statement for women’s empowerment and choice -- has not reduced women to everything that is questionable about men.

Check out her hilarious cartoons that offer -- stripped off the arty direction and gorgeous Deepika -- a simple yet powerful take on fighting off gender stereotypes.

1. This take on Cosmo’s “How To Drive Him Crazy In Bed” Series