How Some Boys Are Not Boys Anymore
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2020-05-05 08:17:42
About the Author
Delhi Police are investigating boys from reputed schools in the Capital who formed an Instagram group named "bois locker room" where they 'casually' chatted about girls from their own and other schools in derogatory terms. They also posted pictures of some girls with lewd remarks. These remarks were so disgusting that no media outlet has reproduced them. Instagram has since deactivated the group.
The way the boys, all in their teens, talk casually about calling a girl over and then raping her with "do teen aur ladke" will give readers a huge chill. The flow of the conversations held on the group clearly show that the boys treat the girls as objects and thinks that they are so desperate that they will come running if the boy makes a phone call.
The second thread visible in such conversations is that the boys feel that the girls they are talking about are all yearning for sex and are easy prey. They also posted pictures of some the girls (probably hacked or downloaded from their social media accounts) and indulged in casual banter about their anatomy and body-shamed a few of them.
There was immediately an outpour of rage on social media.
The Delhi Commission for Women also took note of the development and issued notices
to Instagram and Delhi Police and called for an immediate arrest of the culprits.
Twitter user @ashnaasharma, who first exposed the group, said she was never more
furious in her life. Others on social media expressed shock, outrage and fear.
But most of them wanted the boys to be punished for trying to normalize
perversion, misogyny and threatening behavior.
This
is what happens when a patriarchal society treats women as objects and talks
cheaply about them. The boys learn from their elders and think talking about
girls in the manner they did is normal behavior. But talking about how 'sexy' a
girl is or how she is 'available' or that they will 'rape' her with friends is
not normal behavior and just shows how perverted these boys are. When a girl
mixes freely with them, they think she is 'easily available'. Yet, when she
keeps a distance, they feel she is a prude and then they want to teach her a
lesson.
As long as they do not treat girls as equals, such boys will continue to harbor such misogynist thoughts and will continue to be a threat to society. But for them to change, society will have to change first. We have to recognize the fact that these thoughts were not coming from boys brainwashed by a khap panchayat. All these boys were from the city, from supposedly good families and attended reputed schools. Where, then, did they get such ideas about women in their heads? This is something that their parents, their teachers and the society must reflect upon.
pic courtesy: shutterstock.com
