Not a Damsel in distress anymore!!

The prince came riding on a beautiful horse and saved her!

The king came in shining armor and saved her!

The prince fought with the dragon valiantly and saved her!

The damsel was saved!

The age-old concept that all our little girls praise!! Fairy tales! Happily ever after!!

Maybe that is why most of us feel dismayed when things don’t go as planned. We lose ourselves and furnish our thinking with every bit of negativity that we find – either accept your so-called fate, continue sulking inside, or show everyone that you are so ill-fated. Very few realize that it is part and parcel of life, gather themselves up, and move on.

Unfortunately, by the time they move on, they hit their late 20s, and all the bitterness they had experienced in life turns them into mature women. All the bitter experiences are not always expressed as most of them wouldn’t fall into the societal standards. Because we have a very strong base built on the grounds of the image created on the screen, which is still being continued.

Women in movies always run to a man for help. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking help, but it is a man who becomes a hero most of the time! Very few movies show women fighting and standing up for themselves. In fact, an independent woman in movies is egoistic, completely opposite to our Indian standards, and possess all qualities that allow a man to change her by bullying, teaching/preaching her a lesson, and such woman do not treat the boy’s parents well.

I so wish to drag such people to reality and give them a whack on their heads. All they have to do is to observe the women from their families. The heroes on-screen fight against the so-called evil people created for the story, but women fight every bit of evil created by our society. The evil that still looks down on those who wear makeup and go to work at night, the ogling eyes around that scan them every minute, the standards that don’t even allow them to feel their emotions, the social stigma of sticking to women only job, teaching kids is mom’s responsibility and showing little kids that daddy defines work, mommy defines home.

This is why little girls grow up thinking they are weak; the thought that a man is what they need for protection is fed into their heads. So the little girls idolize Cinderella, snow white, a sleeping beauty, but never idolize Mulan, a warrior princess.

We are still taught to be quiet. A girl is expected to behave well, talk slowly without being loud, they are expected to walk with elegance, maintain poise alll the time, must always be presentable, groomed, decked up, powdered etc etc.

Do I deny the fact that things have improved? No, not at all. Yes, we are changing, but this process of change is slow; when a change in society is slow, it tends to ignore many small things that come with change. So, this is to remind us about all that is being ignored and to let everyone know that we are not a damsel in distress anymore!!