Do we zoom in on a man's 'crotch' when he makes a public appearance and use it for 'cheap headlines'?: Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone who maintained silence after her Twitter outburst against TOI over the cleavage controversy, has spoken up again,  this time posting a detailed post on Facebook. She issued a statement against the blatant sexism by the leading daily, complaining against their stance that compared the "cleavage" headline with writing on Shah Rukh khan's abs. Deepika has argued that the media can discuss the legs or the cup size of a character that she portrays, but all that she demands for is respect as a woman off-screen. 

While the column clearly compared the controversial incident with Shah Rukh Khan's eight pack abs and Hrithik Roshan's hot bod, Deepika has clearly hit out at the daily with another strong stance. Her statement read: "What my concern is and I am stating it clearly so it is not misconstrued or confused with Shahrukh’s 8-pack or any other woman’s or man’s anatomy. I have spoken out against an ideology that such regressive tactics are still being employed to draw a reader’s attention at a time when we are striving for women’s equality and empowerment"

Deepika further hammered on the sexist approach and the blatant comparisons between her and the male actors. "When an actresses (sic) inner wear decides to do a "peek-a-boo",she most definitely did not step out with the intention to do so.So instead of zooming in,circling it and pointing arrows at it,why don't we give her some 'respect' and let it go instead of making it 'headlines'!? Are we not human?Yes we marvel,envy and drool over a male actors 8-pack abs in a film,but do we zoom in on the mans 'crotch' when he makes a public appearance and make that 'cheap headlines'??!!"

At a time when the entire society needs an attitude shift and is busy blowing trumpets of women empowerment, such a callous move by Times Of India definitely is a testimony of how backward the society still is and how hard we must toil to get things in a rather progressive mode.

At a time when the Indian society is struggling to control ills like rape, domestic violence, abuse to women and the other atrocities towards women, TOI had directly stamped its blatant sexist approach calling it 'normal' and 'valid'. With a video uploaded by Times Of India titled 'OMG: Deepika Padukone's cleavage' causing all the furore, the actress had taken a bold stand against the media house and stood up for herself. 

Joined by fans as well as celebrities from all over the nation, the protest did force TOI to pull down the video off their site but the treatment meted out henceforth was one of sheer casualness. Firstly calling it a 'compliment', the daily tried to defend its standpoint only to have met with further protest slamming their standpoint. But recently in a column published in the leading daily, they further defended their views by calling the actress 'irresponsible' and 'silly'. 

The article read: "We don't go into a hostile frenzy when cameras caress and capture SRK's and Hrithik's perfect six-pack abs. We marvel, we envy and we drool. Why should it be different for a woman?" Not just that, even after getting slammed for their indecent approach and callous attitude, the media group remained defiant. Calling their point of view 'absolutely valid and correct', they went on to say that whatever they did was right because "As long as there is no violence or unlawful methods being adopted, everyone is entitled to their point of view. Even if it's top view!"