The new year has set in and we all are striving hard to keep up with our new years resolution. As every year, my new year’s resolution is to loose weight, at the end of 2022, we will all be able to witness how much I could keep up with the REsolution.

Due to Covid, our New Year is not exactly how we expected it to be. Schools which had re-opened in December have now again adapted the online mode. The new Covid variant is creating a havoc. Despite all this, it is important to break some stereotypes this new year. The pandemic has forced us to change the way we work, we think, we perceive things, yet there are some old school thoughts that we maintain. Hereunder are a few stereotypes that we need to break in 2022.

Stereotyping on the basis of clothes

Stereotyping someone on the basis of clothes is something that we need to break in 2022. Clothes are meant to be worn for the comfort of an individual and commenting on the same amounts to invasion of privacy of the person.

Stereotyping Marital Status

Stereotyping on the basis of Marital Status. This is one stereotype that I have faced a lot. What is more shocking is I have been stereotyped more by the so called younger cool younger generation than the elders. My Marital Status has got to do nothing with my work. I am an Individual professional and marriage is a completely aspect of my life.

Stereotyping on the basis of skin colour

Stereotyping on the basis of skin colour. We call our selves modern, feminist, demand freedom of speech and portray ourselves as Rebel. Yet we are all slave to fairness products. The cosmetic Industry has grown manifold in India thanks to this stereotype. IF you really do not want any Foreign Companies to make tons of money stop being obsessed with Fair Skin, they will automatically lose a huge market share.

Stereotyping LGBTQ Community

Thanks to Bollywood, we have got it fixed in our minds, that the LGBTQ community carries themselves and speaks in a particular format. They are human beings too. Let us stop interfering in their lives by not stereotyping them.

Stereotyping Caste

In India, we are obsessed with the entire Caste System. Somehow, it becomes the first common topic of interaction when two individuals meet. Even though it is less prevalent in the metro cities, it is still common in rural areas. Today our Economic Conditions define us more than our Caste.

Stereotyping the perfect body

We keep talking about Right to Privacy and fight with the Government for the same. Yet we do not respect another Individual’s Privacy. We need to remember and understand, that we have no right to comment on another person’s body. It belongs to them.

Stereotyping Celebrities

We never cease to Worship the Bollywood Celebrities. Anything they do becomes a topic of discussion. If we were more concerned about how a Politician is carrying out his function than a Bollywood Celebrities, our Country would have been in a much better space. It is high time that we stop worshipping the Bollywood Celebrities and considering them as Demi God and Influencers. They are just like any other professionals.

Stereotyping Mental Health

Being upset = Depression, Being Sad = Depressed , Being Depressed = Something is wrong with you. Suicide = Something wrong with his/her brain.

WE still do not know the importance of mental health and therefore do not take care of our mental health. Mental Health is a crucial subject, which needs to be spoken about and sensitized in our society.

Stereotyping Sports

Do not play too much outside, you will waste your entire life doing nothing. IF we could only channelize our children’s energy into getting interested in sports, a lot would have changed for us adults. Sports not only teaches you to be disciplined, it teaches you team work, it teaches you to respect your body and take care of it. Playing a sport always refreshes your mind.

Stereotyping Professions

A Lawyer always lies, a doctor will ask you to do unnecessary test only to make more money, Politicians are uneducated and corrupt etc. etc. Well none of this is always true. IT is high time that we understand the importance of each profession, respect them only then you can grow.

Stereotyping Expensive Education

Anything that is always Expensive is always Good. That is basic understanding. We always think that if our children go abroad to study, they will get better jobs and their lifestyle will improve. IT is not always true. A lot of times, Indian parents send their children to average colleges in foreign countries by taking heafty student loans. Sometimes, despite the degree they fail to get a decent job and therefore both the children and their parents suffer.

Stereotyping Gender Inequality

Gender Equality does not mean that women are always oppressed and they need just. Gender Equality also does not mean abusing men. Stereotyping Gender inequality or fake feminism has been rising in the last few years in our society. Thanks to the social media. It is high time that we understand the true meaning of feminism.

Misuse of Women’s Law

Domestic Violence law was introduced to save women from being harassed by her family members, especially the married women. Unfortunately in the last few years, a lot of fake cases have also been registered against men by women. Today Domestic Violence has also become one of the most misused law and is sometimes also referred to as Legal Terrorism.

Domestic Violence faced by Men

It is a myth that domestic violence is faced only by Women. Even men are victims of Domestic Violence. Unfortunately, we do not have any law, which addresses the said problem. There are no gender Neutral Laws with respect to Domestic Violence because we as a society do not accept that men can also be victims of Domestic Violence.

Marriage is an end to a Woman’s Career

A lot of times, we often feel that marriage and family means an end to a Women’s Career. With new Career Options that have come in our society, it is important that we understand that it is possible for us to start or restart our career post marriage and having children.

Dowry

Dowry is an age old practice existing in our society. Despite several laws and judgments made by our Government and Courts, we never fail to continue this practice. Dowry in any form needs to be stopped now.

Emotional Abuse

We sometimes fail to recognise Emotional Abuse. Emotional Abuse is when a person is forced to behave in a particular manner, by someone who is emotionally torturing him or her. A lot of times, we do not understand that a person is undergoing emotional abuse because there are no clear signs of the same unlike physical abuse. Yet, there are some signs such as depression, deteriorating physical health, lack of communication, withdrawal from the society, which are signs of Emotional Abuse.

Regionalism

India is a diverse Country. The language, Culture, traditions, practices everything changes every 3 kms. Despite that there is so much of stereotype that we have with respect to people from different regions in our country. The trouble faced by North East Indians in their own country due to Regionalism and Racism is not new. I hope atleast now we break our stereotype with respect to the different regions of our country.

Nepotism

During olden times, the children choose the profession of their fathers. It was the norm then, later on children started carving their own paths and following their dreams. But recently Nepotism has been seen as a crime. Nepotism exist in almost every field today. Because children are bound to select the profession of their parents. I am not against Nepotism but encouraging Nepotism compared to regular talents is something that we need to stop.

These are a few stereotypes that we need to break by the year end. If we all attempt to break these stereotypes, then we can definitely move towards a better world.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

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In the year 2021, we wrote about 1000 Inspirational Women In India, in the year 2022, we would be featuring 5000 Start Up Stories.