An open letter to Times of India

Dear Times of India,

There are times when one should keep quiet. If most of the online
world is lambasting you, even if you think youre right it wouldnt hurt
to introspect a little and wonder why people are reacting the way they
are. Your response to Deepika Padukones fuming tweet and post on
Facebook against your article on her, or more specifically on her
breasts, is both shocking and unexpected. You could have chosen to
apologise. Or you could have chosen to keep quiet. But by doing
neither and by misunderstanding the issue entirely, youve only dug
yourself deeper into a hole.
Youve started your article in Bombay Times (Dear Deepika, our point
of view, Sept. 21) saying, As one of the largest media houses in the
world with interests in print, TV, radio and online, we approach each
medium differently, as do our audiences. There isnt a one-fits-all
formula for either distributing or consuming content across various
media.
Its true that across media houses each medium is approached
differently but editorial values and ethics remain the same. There are
still limits to what can be published online and what cannot. By merely
brushing aside the problem by stating that the online world is
chaotic and cluttered and sensational headlines are far from
uncommon, youre being unapologetic about your mistakes. Yes,
perhaps this may not be right but thats how things are, so you must
get used to it is the crux of your message. Indeed the online world is
chaotic and cluttered but that should give you and every other media
house more of a reason to be careful about the content being posted.
Rather you shamelessly admit that youre choosing to objectify a
woman and be sensational.

It makes it worse that you are doing this and being unrepentant
about it at a time when one of the biggest problems that plagues this
country is its treatment of women. Sexist attitudes manifest
themselves in different forms leering, passing offensive remarks,
gawking are all at one end of the continuum, crimes against women
like rape are on the other end. You cannot cry yourself hoarse about
the extreme form while believing it perfectly alright to engage in the
more subtle ones. Did I hear you say hypocrisy?
You then ask: Was Deepikas hypocrisy for publicity? Below the
question (which you really seem to believe is not a question but the
reason why the actor chose to lash out at you), youve printed a collage
of photographs photographs that show the actors breasts, her
cleavage and her legs. The point youre apparently trying to make here
is that Deepika is consciously flaunting her body for photo shoots and
other assignments, so why should she take offence when youre so
generously complimenting her?
No, TOI, there is a difference between zooming into a womans
cleavage and making a story out of it with a headline that says OMG!
Deepikas Cleavage Show and posting pictures of her that she has
posed for voluntarily. The first is a blatant invasion of privacy; the
second is her choice. This is the same reason why Katrina Kaif was
furious earlier when pictures of her in a bikini with Ranbir Kapoor in
Spain were splashed across newspapers. It wasnt the fact that she was
in a bikini that angered her; it was that the pictures were taken and
posted without her knowledge and permission. Consent or the lack of
it is the issue youre missing here.
Deepikas body is her own she can choose to do whatever she wants
with it. By focussing solely on her body parts and commenting on
them, you are doing exactly what women fight against everyday
objectification. Your response to her cleavage is no different from that
guy on the street who whistles at a woman when she walks by fully

clothed or not or the man on the bus who leers at a woman when
her dupatta slips. What is the difference, really? They are zooming in
with their eyes; youre zooming in with your camera.
You also justify your act saying that men are objectified too. Shah
Rukh Khans 8 pack abs also evoke an OMG! response so what
difference is there, you ask. That is not a great defence. Are you
seriously saying We objectify Shah Rukh too we objectify everyone
really so whats the fuss all about?
Is Deepika doing this for publicity? I dont know, but it can be safe to
say that people are asking you the same question.
You dont need a censor board TOI, but yes, perhaps a few editorial
discussions before publishing such stories may not be a bad idea. It
could save you all this outrage. Please understand that apart from
ownership the treatment of a person as an object owned by another
being a characteristic of objectification, denial of subjectivity or the
lack of consideration for the persons feelings in question is another.
The subject being discussed here was miffed with your post as well as
initial response and made it abundantly clear that her subjectivity was
denied. All you could have done was considered her response and
feelings and apologised. Or really, just kept quiet.
Yours truly,
Some peeved woman on a Sunday morning.
Keywords: Deepika Padukone, Times of India