Are you a lady? Oh, you are. Do you wear leggings? Oh, you do. Then, I hate to break it to you, but there’s a problem. You might be thinking you’re a decently dressed lady, but certain magazines might think otherwise.
Yes. On bikes, walking on the road, your kurti might just mischievously sway with the playful breeze, but trust me, there might be a lensman waiting for that golden moment to freeze it and put it up on his magazine cover story calling you an indecent woman.
You bottom showing through them, your pantyline visible — no you didn’t intend it to be that way, you had a kurti in place, but it fluttered and there, you became famous. You’re backside, that is.
A widely read Tamil magazine Kumudam did exactly that. They photographed women of all sizes in the most awkward moments possible, putting their backsides on display in what can only be termed as vulgar and cheap.
There are many things alarming about this. One, how can someone be allowed to photograph women without their permission. Second, waiting for someone’s kurti to flutter to take that perfect shot is shameful. The job of a pervert. Third, painting it in the hues of a cover story? No comments.
It seems that now a leading journalist has launched a campaign against the magazine, urging people to sign a petition for the magazine to apologise for the story. It’s picking up steam in twitter too, with as many as 5,000 people signing the petition.
It’s perhaps high time that journalism be defined. Photographing perfectly well-dressed women in awkward moments has got to be one of the lowest it could have gone.