Ariana Gupta is a writer who wrote a book titled 'New Age Fairy Tales' which challenges and shows us different variations of our bedtime stories like 'Cinderella' 'Snow White' and more.
Ariana Gupta. Pic/ Instagram
Friday, March 8 is being celebrated as International Women's Day for over a century. The world acknowledges everything amazing about being a woman and ponders on how far is the destination to gender equality.
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While today, everybody appreciates the women around them, be it mothers, sisters or colleagues, book-writer Ariana Gupta touches on subjects like feminism, stereotypes and how sexism and patriarchy return once the day is over.
Also Read: International Women's Day 2019: Everything you need to know
Ariana Gupta is a writer who wrote a book titled 'New Age Fairy Tales' which challenges and shows us different variations of our bedtime stories like 'Cinderella' 'Snow White' and more.
Excerpts from the interview:
Why new age fairy tales, what inspired you to choose this genre?
Women empowerment has always been something very close to my heart and always will be. I grew up on Cinderella, Snow White and every other princess story imaginable so for me, the damsel of distress plot was very normal. But then in 6th grade, I read Pride and Prejudice and after reading about how Elizabeth challenged gender roles in the Victorian era I began thinking about why didn’t our fairy tale characters do the same? In 2018, I did a photography project with my friends in which I challenged traditional fairy tales. This photo project then gave life to New Age Fairy Tales wherein I created my own characters to battle against the patriarchy and hopefully to give young girls and boys role models to look up to.
What was it that you were trying to target through the book?
I was majorly trying to target gender stereotypes that we have all grown up with and I just wanted children to be introduced to the word feminism early so that they normalise it and aren’t afraid of identifying themselves as feminists. I have tried to target fat shaming, colourism, the gender wage gap, toxic beauty standards and the damsel of distress plot through my stories.
What about advertisements? Do you think they are changing or not?
I think advertisements are largely responsible for how we as a society view things and for the longest time advertisements have been very sexist because clearly, that’s what sold, however, I do feel that they are changing. I am very happy to see the new ads and it is high time that these big brands took a stand. I think we have finally entered the era of Woke Advertising and I am happy to see this shift especially since I wish to work in advertising in the future.
As a woman yourself, what are your personal experiences of being stereotyped? What were your struggles while writing the book?
I have faced my fair share of stereotypes. I really enjoy playing football and back when in 8th grade I first started playing the sport, I was told that football is not for girls as they would get hurt. From a very young age, I’ve heard how dark my complexion is and that I should try and make it lighter.
I think a major struggle while writing the book was that a lot of people told me to avoid using the word feminism or replace it with something else. However, I was adamant about using it because the whole point of the book is to introduce feminism to children and explain the concept to them.
Someone even told me that the book might not sell because there aren’t enough male characters in it.
Keeping the book aside, how do you deal with stereotyping in day-to-day life?
I think the first step would be to call it out. Don’t shy away from it by saying it’s normal and people will continue propagating these stereotypes because they just don’t understand. If you don’t call them out now they probably will never understand or stop.
Do you think it is only women who are stereotyped in our society or the men too? If yes, in what way?
No, I don’t think that it is only women who are stereotyped in our society, men are definitely stereotyped as well. I think we’re all used to the ‘Men shouldn’t cry’ stereotype, which has forced masculinity to be associated with suppressing one’s feelings and had adverse effects on young boys and adult men. I think another major stereotype would be that men always want to have intercourse. How many times have we heard the “Pink shirt? Are you gay?” stereotype. The “Looks like puberty forgot to hit you, where is your beard?” stereotype. The “You drive worse than women” stereotype. These are just a few from the endless list of gender stereotypes which are destructive for all genders.
Do you think women are treated differently on women's day rather than other days?
I think we get to read a lot about women’s achievements on woman’s day but apart from the WhatsApp forwards there isn’t a drastic change in how women are treated. Yes, they might receive a little more attention than usual but that’s about it. As soon as the day is over the sexism returns and everything’s back to how it was.
What do you have to say about the short film Period – a story on menstruation, that won an Oscar?
I think it’s amazing how Period won the Oscar. For the longest time, something as natural as menstruation has been a taboo topic across the globe and to see people finally embrace it is just wonderful. I haven’t had the opportunity to watch the film yet but we need more films like this. Not just to end the taboo but to find out the amazing things people are doing to fight this stigma.
What is your advice to young women?
My advice would be to not be afraid and stand up for what you believe in. And once you have identified what you believe in you need to make it happen. So, no matter how small it may feel, just start you don’t know what it might turn into.
Also Read: Women's Day 2019: Today, women are eager to share their stories, says Aditi Mittal
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