After having significant interactions with people (of both sexes) who drink, I think there is a false notion that it is Macho to get drunk. And this notion usually gets into the head while in high school. Some people dont quite outgrow it even in the mid-forties. No Shuv, I am not talking about you at all here. You are considerably younger.
But what I find more amusing (I wanted to use 'dangerous' but then I thought what danger am I talking of) is the desire of woman to smoke cigarettes Agarbatti style and down a few drink more because of the brand. No, my target is no one in particular here.
Are women trying to ape men in this way and trying to show the world that they too have arrived? I surely think so.
But hold on, you arrived the day the apple was offered. Its just that you have forgotten that it was you who offered the apple and can still do so anytime you wish. Can there be anything more Macho than that? Can there be anything less Macho to have bitten it in the first place. That one single bite condemned all men to eternal slavery.
But back to the issue. I find it more Macho for women to be utterly feminine. And when I am using the term Macho I am using it devoid of all its sexist intent. I hope you all understand that or else I have to invent a new term (especially the bra-burners).
Facho? Or something more nonsensical.
But hold on! How can I, of all people talk about drinking? Or is it more Macho to not drink?
Postscript
My car has been scratched and vandalized once again. This is a post to cool my soul. I just did a Macho act myself by not getting angry on the person who might have committed this act. May God forgive his soul and save him from the impending doom that may befall him and his family today that may ruin their entire life.
But I also have supreme confidence in the pace of God's mercy.
34 comments:
who said anything about drinkers being macho? some people enjoy drinking..and that's a very simple explanation that need not be traced to Eden.
"Who said anything about drinkers being macho?" Sure?
No I am not saying you said it but someone might have or done something to suggest it?
Think. Think. I am sure you have come across many boys and grown up women.
Yes, interesting. my two younger children now aged 21 (boy) and 18 girl)have each gone through a brief phase of excessive drinking, as if here in England it is a rite of passage: it is! I have read books in which an older generation of men has pontificated that one of the most important things a young man learns at university is to know how to hold his drink, i.e. not make a fool of himself and not destroy property. Implication: it takes a while to learn. Yes, we have that bad reputation for aggressive drunkenness which goes back centuries. I discover that - at least with my own children - they now soon get over the delights of alcohol.
On the other hand, there is a big problem for the courts now in rape cases over here. How to judge if it was rape, when the woman was so drunk she was incapable of giving consent, or of looking after her own body in all the normal ways? (I hear about it, but have no experience of it in more than 60 years.)
some good points there yves
hmm. i think it sometimes starts out as rebellion for women but by god its fun! :)
btw i'm sorry abt your car.
i hate drunkards and smokers. they should be led to the firing squad. and the worst case is of women drunkards and somekers. they should be directed to me.
Scout: Can someone try and make me understand what are women rebelling against. They already have half the world at their feet. And the are out catfighting the other half. So what is this rebellion about??
Ghetu: You hate yourself? Chi chi chi chi..
i like drunk women. they find me handsome.
god! you are so opinionated! i agree with shuv. some of us drink coz we like to...being male or female has nothing to do with it. i smoke when i'm alone too...so am i trying to prove myself macho?
and you cannot even begin to think of an alternative to the word "macho"...whatever you try to substitute it with is going to be equally loaded.
read your post again, kaushik. twice, thrice, maybe 10 times. maybe you'll think otherwise.
Sayantani: Firstly thanks for the compliment.
Secondly who doesnt love reading their posts again and again. Infact I love that. But never ever in my life have I wanted to think otherwise to what I have written.
I truly believe 99% of women in India smoke & drink to prove something. But I dont know what or to whom. U may be among the 1% minority but that doesnt change the fact. Right??
i seriously doubt if sayantani is the minority
uh oh..
thanks for the thumbs up scout!
kaushik,
aren't you from j.u.? or haven't you atleast been there? so what will you call all the women there who smoke and drink? or even in presidency? aNtel??
you know what? i know the people you are talking about. the typical partying, brainless lot, who go discotheques and smoke "agarbatti" style, like you put it. but the point is, you can't slot every woman (99% is every woman!) into the same category!!
thumbs up scout?? i thought she said u were part of the 99% sayantani?
Scout:
OK I take your word. It may not be 99%, may be 98% but Sayantani still remains in the minority. I am not too sure about what Shuv things about you.
Sayantani:
No, fortunately I am not from JU (i missed it by 0.004 %) so I didnt have to suffer the aNtels. I dont like aNtels in the male form so no question of tolerating the nose ring sprouting, kurta bag, bob cut, flat types women activist aNtels ala Arundhati Roy. Though the heck that #@#%!$ writes well.
And ofcouse u r right, I did not include my wife, my daughter, my 2 moms and my grandmothers in that generalization.
there's something wrong with my 'english understanding skills'????what's everybody talking about??? hasnt scout said sayantani belongs to the majority? HELP!!
kaushik, the only thing i can say after raeding your last comment (and your post again) is that you need to think beyond prototypes. you have to decenter the dialogue from a male-centric point to provide for an alternate reading.
yes shuv, you are right, i think that's what she said too. but my interpretation is that she meant i'm not the minority, because there are so many women who drink coz they like to drink. like scout. so they are the majority. WE are the majority. right scout?
Sayantani:
May be you are right. You do belong to the majority ;).
I cannot thing beyond prototypes because in our project lifecycle thats the first build.
And I dont want to be a gay to move away from my male centric viewpoint.
awwwww c'mon! you don't have to be gay to do that!! i'm no feminist either! absolutely not! i'm just asking you think beyond the obvious...and the male-centric p.o.v. has become the obvious. try it out sometime, it's fun. :)
and one more thing, if you thing arundhati roy writes well then you seriously need a good dose of good literature!! :) aren't you an english major?? :):) shuv's comments are coming back to me now!
phew! that's a relief!
Sayantani:
So long we have chosen not to agree our comments will keep on getting interesting. Unfortunately I am English Major but fortunately stayed away from the aNtlamo crap.
I think there are 2 aspects to writing. I always fall for the emotional aspect of it. The ability of some writers to take you beyond the realm of present and transport you into the life of the book. TGOST is such a novel. The book is like an animated canvas.
Infact thats one of the reasons I like Ghetu's posts so much.
-pointed silence from scout-
Silence can be golden.. But it can prick as well. Especially if it is a pointed silence.
i agree with sayantani, if that clarifies matters.
Scout: You agree on what? The arundhati roy is an awful writer?
one last nit...you calling the god of small things TGOST just made my day...it sounds just a karan johar movie, doesn't it?? :D
girls smoking and burning the social fabric of india. then trying in vain to subdue the fire with her drink. dangerous!
oh...my dear country. i am sorry for you. the decadence of west!
Sayantani: This is not done. You derile TGOST and then take pot shots at my favourite director. All this just for calling a spade a spade. Have you heard of this term ABBM??
Anybody any guess??
he he :)! couldn't resist it kaushik! ABBM? several not so nice things come to mind, but i won't give you another chance to form opinions about women like me!! so tell me, what exactly is ABBM??
Sayantani: This post was never directed at anybody in particular. I dont even know you how dare I from an opinion. And I rarely get personal except with my wife.
But i would like others to first give it try. ABBM.. anyone??
This has nothing to do with drinking, so please forgive me. However, what I am going to tell you is very important.
Later this year, Mary Kay, Inc. will be opeing Mary Kay India. Please help the women of your country become educated about this so-called "opportunity".
At www.pinktruth.com you will find many true-to-life experiences of women (not just American women) who were at one time a part of the upper echelon of Mary Kay, Inc.
Intelligent women would not simply believe the hype that is presented to them during a "guest event" or recruiting spiel. Intelligent women would do some serious research before agreeing to become a part of such a cultish business.
The people of India do not deserve the ails that come with an association with Mary Kay, Inc.
PLEASE, take some time to educate yourself. Read the articles and comments on Pink Truth.
ABBM: all the baal bokachoda males! (sayantani would say)
Anon: Firstly I hate anons. And let us not use this blog as an activist's platform. I hate activities in whatever color or gender they come from.
Ghetu: Chi chi chi.. this is the language to use infront of women. But anyways you are wrong.
Post a Comment