‘Hot babes with ugly legs’ – Look how much is TOI obsessed with women’s bodies!

When the world is going gaga over some of the most successful women of this century who are prettier of all, famous then the rest and known for their commendable work, then there is this columnist who cannot find solace in her cubicle as she has consumed her brain so much that it finally came out with a peculiar topic of discussion-legs and thighs of celebrities. You have got a pretty face? Cover it up as an analyst is on job to examine your legs and to tell you if they are ‘skinny or wobbly’. TOI, our very own ‘leading’ publishing house can’t get over with the beauty of women. TOI is bewitched by women so much so that its love was propelling for breasts and cleavage and now it has tripped down below the belt. Recently, a Times of India columnist contributed her critical analysis on celebrities whose legs don’t make up to the ‘perfect 10’. The headline was aptly captioned as, ‘Hot babes with ugly legs’. Here is what TOI to say about them-

Lindsay Lohan — “The Mean Girls star has supposedly lost weight recently, but her heavily freckled legs are quite a sore sight. They not only appear chunky, but she has also been spotted with large, dark bruises on her legs.” Angelina Jolie — “This Oscar winner is seen as the epitome of style and grace. But her skinny arms and legs with bulging elbows and knees defy her style diva image. Her knees, in particular, could surely use some meat.”

Sarah Jessica Parker “The Sex and the City star doesn’t have the legs to wear short dresses. They are not only thin, but appear to be bow-shaped as well. Her legs often have that over-worked-look, with veins standing out.” Bollywood actors are also graded like cattle at an agricultural show, slamming Aditi Rao Hydari for her “wobbly knees” Aishwarya Rai Bachchan “legs that look better when covered” and Diya Mirza “pointy knees”. Katie Holmes– The columnist pointed out that she has muscular thighs don’t match the skinniness of her upper body. These are some of the excerpts from her post but I feel you can clearly figure out her shoddy appraisal. We cannot undermine how unmindfully she has tampered and tarnished the beauty of some of the most beautiful women. Who else can think like this but only a buffoon. It comes in the wake of an hour where the world celebrates the joy of being a woman, her beauty and success but as usual TOI ends up commenting, criticizing and denigrating her in all its manifestations. Its endeavors attains the heights of devaluing these female celebrities by defining them according to the amount of cellulite or the dimply fat their body has rather than by their accomplishments. If your eyes haven’t completely rolled out or you were unable make an expression with a big ‘awww’ then ruminate over the ideal with which this columnist was writing. An insight into her mind can make you reach deeper into it where you can actually see ingrained sexism and biasness. Her mind has cultivated the seeds of a misogynistic attitude and since then she has been preaching it. This matter calls for a serious thought as media is an influence of its kind; people will breed on whatever it serves. Media is responsible for sculpting opinions, shaping ideals and animating the thoughts but such criticisms put the thought process in a serious jeopardy, forcing it to consider women as commodities. Women are standardized as to be only seen beautiful with perfect body and legs which counters how the society typecasts women. This standardization of beauty seems to even surpass a woman’s own self conscious choices thereby surmounting her insecurity. John Keats said, ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’ but a beauty which is blushed with insecurity cannot last for long. And for TOI, I just can say that the day you will capture the success stories of women rather than capturing their cleavages will be the day when you will serve the right kind of things to people to breed upon.

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About the Author: This article is contributed by Vanshika, our Intern turned Editor. Vanshika is pursuing her graduation in economics from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Delhi University. She is a feminist at heart who wants to make a difference in the way this world perceives women. An avid writer, she really wants to reach to the masses and stand up for what she believes in- WOMEN EMPOWERMENT.