Of Garb

From a recent Facebook post of mine...and posted here to mark International Women's Day.

Of Garb

oh well
it seems to be
world women's day
and so i feel obliged to say
a thing or two
on this forum
without much thought
or, for that matter, decorum
since i could spout these lines
in all states of theme and dream
defined by choices
made
that might appear extreme
to some.

there's this word that's been echoing around
mindsets, mindsets
-the rallies abound.
and that's the Mindset
-the centrepiece
across races, climes and gods:
humans' attitudes
towards their bods.

scientifically (and non-judgementally) speaking
bodies are shells
with no subjective value/s attached
to how they're thought of, looked at, or, you know, watched.

However, when these things start to infringe
upon the body's movements, its comfort and things
such as violation of its space and parts
-that's when societies start
to play their role.

In the areas where i live and roam
i've (since childhood), seen people, not far from my home
walking around in scanty cloth
both men and women
-without a thought.
no divine elevation of any gender
-just matter-of-fact weather-defender-like
clothing.

One has seen this transform over the decades
to a need for garments over time
primarily to counter and to meet
the influx of the industrial fleet.

alas, that inescapable middle-class
(of which, no doubt, one has been a part
-On certain counts)
calls the shots
for what's normal to wear.
(meanwhile
the poorest and richest have sartorial notes and elements to compare
-thankfully).
(Of which, too, one is a part:
Rankfully, the people's princess
and field marshall
of one's thoughts):

why does the wearing of revealing clothes
by people
cause people
to be offended
in modern society?

Because,
net-net
it also implies
that if a person
is (even if beyond the person's will)
titillated
by the other's presence
-then what?
Then, the extraneous power equation
between the two individuals
plays out.

This tacit understanding
dictates how people dress.
And if its the Market
that determines your address,
then it had better be one
that supports attire
that relegates male chauvinism
to the appropriate pyre.

But now to talk
non-cynically
of aspects
of some
so-called tribal societies
and attitudes towards
sex:

not bought, but free and fair
(read Paraja, there's an English translation),
then compare
the situation with those
who struggle
for jobs
to get married
so that they can have sex
even if it means adding to the population
in a largely overpopulated-by-human-beings-world.

Hasn't the planet arrived at an impasse
where its time to raise a glass
(and a policy-structure)
in favour
of the non-reproducing class
Especially when a likely side-effect
would be a safer world
for the rest of the mass?

By V. Shruti Devi (quill-o-the-wisp)