Flip the switch
This article explores the concept of gender discrimination by using a 'flip-the-switch' thought experiment to highlight societal double standards. It discusses how gendered expectations manifest in everyday life, from clothing norms to religious and medical stigmas.
Why it matters
It challenges readers to recognize and dismantle ingrained gender biases by reframing common social interactions through a reversed gender lens.
(This article is part of the Gender Agenda newsletter. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Sunday, subscribe here .)
Sometimes, all you need to understand discrimination is to flip the switch.
Let me explain with an example. Recently, I watched a brilliant ad on Instagram made by a content creator, Vir Bhaan Saini, in partnership with a clothing brand, XYXX Crew, titled ‘If Baniyans Were Bras’. In the opening shot, a father sees a bra hanging on the clothesline and angrily calls out to his son. He snatches the towel off his son’s shoulder and covers not the bra, but the baniyan hanging beside it.
In the next shot, three women lean over a young man wearing a transparent shirt in a bus and giggle as they try to catch a glimpse of his baniyan .
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in