Actress and novelist Mira Sethi has addressed toxic masculinity in Pakistan and shared her thoughts on the objections raised against what women wear on social media.
The actress, who was last seen in hit drama serial Chupke Chupke shared a clip of her recent interview on her Instagram handler and discussed how toxic masculinity continues to target women’s clothing.
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The 34-year-old actress while addressing her viewpoint said that society’s definition of masculinity has become so fragile that a man’s pride feels threatened by a woman’s choice of clothes. “It’s always fascinating to see trolls go nuts under photos of public-facing women in dresses or costumes or anything the trolls deem ‘vulgar’,” she said.
“I saw a comment underneath a post made by my colleague and friend Ushna Shah on Instagram,” Sethi said. “She was wearing jeans and a top in the post and the comment underneath it read ‘if my mardaangi (masculinity) compels me to act in a certain way now then don’t blame me,” she added.
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Talking more about manhood, Sethi asserted, “What is this masculinity exactly? Why is your definition of masculinity and pride so narrow that it starts and ends at a woman’s clothing? An independent woman and a broad-minded man can both co-exist in this society together.”
“Why do men police us so much? If we talk about your masculinity then it should be confident enough and allow you to live without it feeling threatened. Of course, we have to be mindful of not crossing certain boundaries. As women, we are aware of what those boundaries are because we live in this society.”
Sethi was trolled earlier this month on her wardrobe choices for LSA 2021. “Go home. I don’t dress for you. I don’t dress for anyone or anything other than my own sense of joy and play and expansion,” said Sethi in a response to all the criticism she received.
