Body Shaming - Cyberbullying

 It is 2017. The marches our sister suffragettes paid off. We can hold jobs. We have voices in the parliament. We can vote. We can wear pants. We can do anything we want without being condemned. NOT. The whole society makes up rules on what a girl does, what she sits like, eats like, walks like, talks like, sleeps like, and so on. We’re told to always “act like a girl”, like that even has a meaning. What DOES a girl “act” like?

We are still a long way off from true equality. The first question I get asked at job interviews these days is “Are you married?”, followed by “Do you intend to get married?”, as if being married is going to diminish my skills and abilities. Want to speak about the pay? Women still earn less than men do for the same job scope. We are mocked in the parliament. Every time a woman raises her voice in the parliament; her menstrual cycle gets the attention instead of what she is tabling to the parliament.

Women’s bodies are still being subject to judgment. We’re too skinny, too fat, too tall, too short, too fair, too dark, etc. Have a PhD in nuclear physics? Doesn’t matter, you’re too short. Running a shelter for displaced children? Who cares? You’re too dark. Just achieved impressive results for your exams? Fuck that, you’re wearing too much makeup. In the parliament? Nah, you aren’t going to be taken seriously because you bleed out of your vagina every month.

Every step a woman takes forward, she seems to be pulled back a further three steps by the very society that claims that they are doing so in order to protect their “culture”. Seems that their “culture” is one that never progresses beyond the stasis they have driven themselves into.  Forget the fact that “culture is an evolving entity that changes to suit the living conditions and situation at the time. Forget also that if culture never changed, we would probably still be living in caves.

In Malaysia, we welcomed Thaipusam 2017 with a threat to spray paint women who wore “indecent” saree blouses. They people who threatened that apparently forgot that the saree was originally worn WITHOUT a blouse. The barrage of body shaming and moral policing towards women, while not uncommon earlier, came more clearly into light after these “body artists” decided to boldly highlight their crime by creating a Facebook page. The perpetrator was caught, but not the rising disregards for the rights of a woman.

It is a tough to be a woman in Malaysia. Being a plus sized minority female is adds to the burden. It is definitely NOT easy. We’re condemned for the way we look. We’re condemned for our size. We’re condemned for our colour. We’re condemned for just about every damn thing on God’s earth.  When we speak out about the bullying, we’re ridiculed. We’re told to just suck it up and survive, because, unlike the girls who are deemed pretty and proper by the eyes of the society, we are supposed to become punching bags. Woe betides any woman who fights back, for she will be harassed, ridiculed, and shamed within an inch of her life.

Thivya’s comment on Karutthu Kannamaa ‘s page

Following is the story of Thivya Narasiah, whose innocent comment about fitness somehow landed her into endless trolling by a troll page, Karutthu Kanthasamy. Thivya commented on a post and she stated (verbatim) “Basically woman’s of our Indians really very nt knowledgeable about fitness” (Basically, we Indian women are really not very knowledgeable about fitness). Which is certainly true, as when an Indian girl hits puberty, her body suddenly becomes a horrible taboo that is not supposed to be talked about. I have known girls who never got regular periods who ended up having polycystic ovarian syndrome. When asked why they didn’t go to the gynecologist, I got the horrified look, and was told that “gynecologists are only for married people” and “my periods will become regular after I get married”. Such a lack of knowledge of their own bodies, due to cultural implications, DOES lead to the lack of awareness of their own fitness. In a debate that challenges this particular problem, Thivya correctly sums up the problem in her statement. But little did she know, her profile picture was to be stolen by the Karutthu Kanthasamy page and widely trolled for being plus-sized. Apparently, according to their logic, bigger girls are not allowed to speak about fitness. Not to forget that their language was largely less than “culturally appropriate”, describing her as a pot and a tanker.

Thivya took it all in her stride, recognizing immature arrogance for what it was and laughed it off. But, this highlights the dangerous sense of entitlement currently plaguing the Indians, especially the males, in this country. It seems that the admins of Karutthu Kanthasamy do not have a limit drawn. They proudly proclaim that they will continue doing things like this. Apparently they are very proud of becoming criminals, all for showing off their difference of opinions with Karutthu Kannamaa. Karutthu Kanthasamy's sole mission is to subdue Karutthu Kannammaa as the latter's admins' outspoken way is against Indian culture - in the name of protecting Indian culture, Karutthu Kanthasamy and their followers constantly harass Karutthu Kannammaa and their female followers. 

This was not the first time they stole pictures and comments of followers in this group as well as others. Case in point: When Diviya Darshini joked about being propositioned to by a Chinese guy, they took her comments from her Facebook page, twisted her words, and trolled her endlessly. They think they are upholding the “Indian culture” by being cyber criminals. Apparently they are speaking out for the good of all the Indians in Malaysia. The scariest part was the huge number of GIRLS who support Karutthu Kanthasamy’s actions.

The status says:

It's not wrong to spread awareness but the person should be suited to spread awareness.

"This is the same tanker which asked for equality to drink beer last year"     

   

The caption in the meme says:

"Hey you, daughter of tanker! First awareness should be given to you! She has 5 kilo

of fat hanging on her face."

Note the condescension, and the words used to describe her. She was called a tanker, and she was condemned for wanting to drink beer. Yeah, that is the downfall of Indian society apparently. Girls drinking beer.

The first comment that followed says:

Anyone can give fitness awareness but those who do need to be qualified for it. She looks like a round pot and she's giving fitness awareness, <spit> what a shitty, crappy thing

Note: Being a plus sized girl and given grief for it by the whole community for half the duration of my entire life, despite having thyroid problems, I was given so many tips and tricks to help me lose weight. Which did not work, by the way. I am sure any plus-sized girl unfortunately born into a regressive community would surely be OVERQUALIFIED to comment about fitness?

So, this girl bravely allowed us to use her picture that was STOLEN by the Karutthu Kanthasamy group to memefy. I would like to point out that

•  Stealing the girl’s picture and using it without her permission IS A CRIME. What they did is deemed “wrongful appropriation”, and if Thivya chooses to, she could file a lawsuit against Karuthu Kanthasamy. They are lucky that she seems to be laughing at their juvenile actions instead.
•  Any idiot who is familiar with Indian last names could easily figure out hers through the so called “censoring” by that group.
•  No one should be trolled for making innocuous comments. Especially not for simply stating that Indian women have a lack of awareness when it comes for fitness. That is a fact, people!
• Being plus-sized doesn’t mean unfit. I KNOW plus-sized gym instructors who are way better at instructing the bigger people at the gym. Takes one to know one and all that.
• Nowhere in “Indian culture” it states that stealing a girl’s profile picture and comment, making a meme out of it, and shaming her relentlessly is the right thing to do. Rather, it speaks out a lot about the lack of culture that these “Indian warriors” show.

Karutthu Kannamaa has been very vocal about this issue. They have been relentlessly trolled on the Karutthu Kanthasamy page, and took the high road by ignoring them. But when someone is trolled for simply making a comment on a post in the page, it is time to voice out.

Karutthu Kannammaa’s statement on the issue

I, personally, find it offensive when criminals decide to become moral police. I find it strange that their many supporters SUPPORT these criminals. A difference in opinion should be welcomed, debated, and settled. Live and let live. Everyone has a freedom of choice, and if one does not see a misogynistic “culture” befitting them, they should be welcome to air their opinions without risking their photos being stolen, or getting rape threats after every post. We Indians have a long way to go before becoming truly “cultured”. From what I have seen so far, I simply cannot agree that stealing pictures and publically humiliating a girl for voicing out her opinions as “Indian culture”