Yesterday, as I was scrolling through my Newsfeed on Facebook, I came across an event organized by Feminists in Kolkata calling for women to Smoke in Public to fight the Patriarchal Male Dominance ‘rampant’ in our Society. It was in response to an assault on a couple of women for smoking in a locality in the city.
Apart from the obvious fact that such atrocious criminal assault on women is not appreciated in our Society and does not really need protesting against as we already have Laws which guarantee that the perpetrator doesn’t go unpunished, the true monstrosity of the event is revealed in its shameful appeal to women to seek pride in the unhealthy habit of Smoking.
At a time when government agencies and numerous social organizations are trying their utmost best to educate people of the evils of smoking, such misguided activism in the name of social justice puts the entire purpose of the Anti-Smoking campaign at peril. People must be free to make their own choices and that implies people must be at perfect Liberty to make poor life choices such as smoking but associating Smoking with a noble cause is not only dangerous but also puts our highly impressionable youth at a health risk.
Equally interesting is how the young feminists never stop to consider who exactly benefits from the event. Will public perception of women smoking in public change with such reckless activism? Highly unlikely. It will change with time and such events will only serve to further stigmatize women who smoke in public. As I see it, the only people who get to benefit from it are the Cigarette Companies who would be delighted if their consumer base expand to include more and more women.
The event served to remind me of a certain man now largely unknown in wider circles, the man who would revolutionize Marketing and the use of Propaganda in every day life. I speak of Edward Bernays, nephew of the Father of Modern Psychology, Sigmund Freud and hailed as the Father of Public Relations himself. Edward Bernays used Psychoanalytic Principles as theorized by Sigmund Freud to influence Mass Public Behavior. As he once famously said about Propaganda, “If this can be used for War, it can be used for Peace.”
Before women smoking cigarettes became mainstream, Lucky Strikes, one of American Tobacco Companies approached Edward Bernays for assistance in increasing their consumer base to include women because until then, the overwhelming majority of cigarette smokers were male. Mr. Barnays after consultation with psychoanalysts theorized that women perceive cigarettes as a phallic symbol and if smoking cigarettes were projected as resistance to male dominance, women will be much more likely to take up smoking. Thus, Bernays on behalf of Lucky Strikes sponsored demonstrations where debutantes smoked cigarettes at the Eastern Sunday Parade in 1929 in New York dubbing the spectacle of Female smokers ‘Torches of Freedom.’
What needs to be mentioned here is Edward Bernays did not directly cause women to start smoking. Bernays only decided to eliminate the Social Taboo associated with Women smoking cigarettes, thereby enabling women to smoke in public without being scorned and encouraged more women to smoke by associating smoking with resistance to Male Dominance. It’s easy to understand why some sections might blame Edward Bernays for more Tobacco consumption among women but it needs to be remembered that he merely associated two different issues which exist naturally in women. As psychoanalyst, A.A.Brill stated, it is natural for women to want to smoke because of oral fixation.
Feminists even then hailed smoking as Valiant Resistance to Patriarchal Male Dominance. Feminist Ruth Hale called for women to join in the march saying, “Women! Light another torch of freedom! Fight another sex taboo!” It’s indeed ironical that Feminists who claim to be strong independent women were virtually conned by a man seeking to assist his employers in earning more profits. The result of this mass propaganda was a massive increase in the number of women who smoke cigarettes. In 1923, women in the United States purchased only 5% of cigarettes sold which increased to 12% in 1929. By 1935, it had increased to 18.1%. It peaked in 1965 with 33.3% where it stayed until 1977. It almost seems cruel how the event in Kolkata which is planned for today uses similar slogans, “Smoke of Freedom, Smoke of Dissent.”
Thus, we see that Feminists in their witchhunt for Male Patriarchal Dominance end up harming the cause of women themselves.
It’s really not a surprise that the degeneracy which has gripped Third-Wave Feminism in America correlates directly with Rising Depression among its population. It’s really not surprising that despite aggressive Feminist activism, according to self-reports women in America have become progressively unhappier every decade since the Second World War. And it’s high time that Feminists in our country, who so love to ape the West when it comes to activism, decide whose side they are on, women or mindless activism. And some might even cynically argue, maybe not without good reason, that if ‘Patriarchal Male Dominance’ protects women from taking up the unhealthy habit of smoking, then maybe it has a humane side to it after all and it’s not as monstrous as it’s made out to be.
now take it to the next level of peeing in public
what’s wrong with them such a lol appeal made by them :(
That’s why there is an old saying in Bengali, “Women keep their brains in knees.”.. Well! ….mostly!
I dont find anything wrong in it. women shud hv equal rights to men …
This should have some sense. Equality does not mean if a man murders that means a woman also got the right to murder. A murderer is a murdered irrespective of sex.
Smoking is injurious to health. Everyone is discouraging it. And do you know who is going to be harmed the most. The women who are supporting this. Let them age and then will come the adverse effects of smoking
I am against smoking and whoever does it men or women is highly discouraged.
And with all due respect, women should have all right which men have, but only the good rights. Bad things are bad and they cannot be called as ‘right’ . They are sins and should deserve punishment irrespective of sex.
An adult female should have the right to decide what’s good/bad for her. Absolute autonomy of decisions is important and required.And this is more than that. I don’t recall a man getting thrashed in public for smoking, but a female was thrashed. See the difference?
Yes you are right. This is not acceptable. No one beat others like this. I am also against this.
But one should protest that those who have beaten her, must get punished.
But here they are asking that everyone should smoke and make it a common habit. This will destroy the smokers as well as the passive smokers.
They should protest to get those assulters arrested and punished.
who bind them for not having cigarettes in public man, they do in many places in kolkata. so, in the name of feminism or patriarchy it seem an absurdity and nothing else. do what else they want to be, but they should be have a common sense…….
Where does our zeal towards reinforcement of Public Smoking go when that 24 year old lad is smoking at the bus stand? Do you stare at him? Remind him of the law? When you aren’t firm-headed enough to remind him of the law and call the cops for him, or don’t write such articles about the guys smoking in public, don’t be a hippocrat when a girl is smoking her life away in public
It seems that the original story has taken an ENTIRELY different spin.
The original story – in the NDTV link – was about the assault and subsequent police action and inaction. So-called right to smoke was an adjunct issue and was NOT the MAIN issue.
However, it seems that the tfipost.com link put a different spin on it and people fell for it. By using an INFLAMMATORY title
“Hamein Chahiye Right to Smoke: The Absurdity of Kolkata Feminists”
this guy Kalpojyoti Kashyap has done a disservice. Feminism seems to have been INJECTED LATER by him and does not seem to be the main issue in the NDTV interview.
He seems to be ALSO blaming the victim.
I would call it yellow journalism since he has sensationalized what originally was a criminal assault and about police incompetence and lack of their regard for a citizen’s well being. The focus should have been ONLY on these issues and the rights of a citizen.
Yes it is the fault of the victim. No matter for what reason they beaten them but i believe, either a man or woman if smokes in public should be accused with “attempt to murder” and “human slaughter” because the smoker only gets the 20% effect from smoking and 80% to the persons standing nearby which sometimes include kids and elders and guys who do not smoke.
.
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Hence, any situation where a smoker gets in troubble for smoking may get no sympathy whatsoever let it be a man or woman.
I think they see equality in a different light………I think this concept of women drinking and smoking openly, being the definition of equality is nothing but a hoax…….Its not a good habit either for men or for women……If some one wants to take poison then its their own choice…..you do not have to use feminism in this matter……… …..But when these high society women fights with the flag of feminism for such matters the main problems of modern society and the true inequality takes place in the other parts of INDIA. Cases like female infanticides, child marriage,inequality in education,Dominant life,living in the shadows………….If they think smoking and drinking really outcasts these matters then I appreciate their concern.