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Girl Power

by Gargi Pant; Illustration by Shinod AP

August 26: The world is changing fast. A decade ago, no one would have thought about boys wanting to step into a girl's shoes. But now, this is happening. According to a report in The Times Of India, girl power rules. A survey by the Hyderabad-based market research company, NFO-MBL India, says that 42 per cent boys marvel at the thought of being a girl. The boys in question are between 15 and 19 years of age and they belong to the five cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai.

Sociologist Susan Vishwanathan tries to explain this trend. She senses an anxiety among the boys of becoming less powerful. They fear that more privileges are being given to girls and that the social system is also becoming biased towards them.

But the boys' fears are not completely unfounded. Ninety nine per cent of girls expect to work and 77 per cent want vocation-based careers. These girls are also confident of becoming the primary breadwinners of their family.

However, there are still a few who would like to hold on to their values. Fifty per cent boys feel that the kitchen is a woman's domain. But girls are of course enjoying their new-found status. Life means more with less constraints and education is something that makes all the difference. More and more girls are becoming sure of going for higher studies. So, it isn't surprising when 80 per cent girls dream of owning a house and 60 per cent a car.

It is perhaps time for everyone to travel back in time and look up the impact of the worldwide women's movement of the 1960s.