Why We Need to Change What We Think About Desi Masala, Wheat Flour, and Hand Cream

The dictionary will tell you that that the word “desi” refers to the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their diaspora, derived from Sanskrit deśá or desiya, meaning land, country and that the word “masala” refers to a mixture of spices as used in South Asian cooking. So one would assume that if you did an online search for images of “desi masala”, your pages would be filled with exotic images of spices and dishes that the subcontinent is renowned for. Far from it. As Swiggy informs us in its video for International Women’s Day, a search for desi masala instead yields titillating images of scantily clad Indian women. In Urban Dictionary, you will find a suggestion on how to use desi in a sentence that reads “I saw two hot desis at the party last Friday!” in obvious reference to women. This also despite the fact that apparently since 1880, 125 boys have been named Desi while there is no record of any girls being named so! You will also not find skimpily-clad women should you look for “desi ghee” (clarified butter) or “desi chicken” or, I am sure, any other form of desi. Nor does the term “desi daru” (country liquor) throw up images of Indian men in various stages of intoxication. Nor do searches for “Srilankan masala” or “Indonesian masala” yield anything else but masala.

On home ground in Bangalore, one of the city’s most premium clubs, where membership is both a status symbol and a privilege, sent me two messages a couple of days ago announcing free gifts of all-purpose flour, wheat flour, and hand cream for the International Women’s Day celebrations they were hosting on their main lawn.

The same day, a friend and member of our corporate communications fraternity shared the cover of a business magazine celebrating women fund managers except that the title beneath their pictures read “Chores to Crores”.

And so in the week leading to International Women’s Day, it was these instances of objectification and stereotyping of women that consumed me in a span of 24 hours. In a year when I thought the pandemic would create a level playing field, when I thought social constructs of gender roles would start to blur, where there was so much to reflect on away from the distractions of a regular social and outdoor life, women were still being commodified and boxed into roles that reek of sexism and misogyny.

When, a few months ago, I reflected on #ChooseToChallenge, the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, I was very positive and hopeful. There was so much we had learnt about women and women as leaders during the pandemic that surely some good would come from it all. Yes, there were worrying facts about the toll that the pandemic had taken on women, but it was also reassuring to know it had been noticed and hopefully would lead to positive action.

But the incidents I refer to above are indicative that for every step we women take or want to take forward, there are several steps that still pull us back. Much as we will eulogize women and their achievements particularly on International Women’s Day, some still see the need for a kitchen staple and a beauty pack in their hands. Some still see them as desirable “spice”. When on the Facebook page of the Club I referred to earlier, I mentioned how disappointed I was by the Club’s action, many men members defended the Club’s gesture and appeared quite affronted by my comment that we did not want freebies, but mindsets to change.

And so this International Women’s Day, over and above the freebies and discounts heaped on women, and the men and women we celebrate, let’s remember that we still need to  #ChooseToChallenge sexism, #ChoosetoChallenge misogyny, #ChooseToChallenge stereotypes. Speak up. Let your voice be heard. Let your pen make its mark. It all counts.

Note: Swiggy says If you’d like to be a part of the movement to change the images for “desi masala” and help end the objectification of women and what the Google-generated algorithm throws up, then upload any masala image or even a masaledar food picture, and tag it as #desimasala on social media.