The Alarming Trend Of Casual And Normalised Use Of Sexist Slurs

The medal-winning wrestlers who are protesting in the capital hail from Haryana, a state that has over the years produced many sportspersons who have won awards and accolades for the country. Even after so many days, the government has not given them any assurance of justice. And it바카라�s a bit demoralising for 15-year-old Nisha Gadhwal from Kabali village in Hisar, Haryana. A budding basketball player, she aspires to be like the wrestling champions from her home state. 

Gadhwal바카라�s daily routine includes undergoing rigorous training after school, which she looks forward to. However, the one thing that makes her uncomfortable is that sometimes her coaches use sexist slurs to put pressure on players to perform better. 

바카라�Many players, most of whom are teenagers, also end up using the words to express their outrage or failure,바카라� she says. 

Initially, for her, these abuses were mere words that people blurted out under the strong influence of sentiment, but eventually, she grew up to use them too. 

Many sportspersons, including star players across different sports, have been guilty of using abuses to express anger, frustration, or displeasure on the field. Though muted, these moments are sometimes broadcast live. However, abusing and using sexist slurs has become so common in our day-to-day lives that such actions don바카라�t come across as jarring anymore.  

A disturbing trend 

Slurs are usually reduced to words spoken to injure the feelings, irrespective of the gender the words attack. It is, however, not difficult to deduce that most slurs are aimed at female physiques to either mock someone or demean them. 

A disturbing trend has emerged wherein youngsters, often ignorant of the literal connotation of sexist slurs, use these words even during casual chats. They are guilty of phrasing their day-to-day conversations around slurs that may or may not be female-centric.

바카라�I used to abuse a lot,바카라� says Sanju, 15, who hails from Hisar. 바카라�When I was in 8th standard, my teacher sat me down and made me understand the meaning of these words.바카라�

Anu, who is Ladwa village in Haryana, says, 바카라�People often use sexist slurs without understanding their meaning. When I was in 10th standard, I asked my mother the meanings of these words and then I stopped using them.바카라� 

Priyakshi Jhakar, 25, affirms that it is mostly the males who draw upon sexist slurs to derogate one another. For a country that is overly sensitised about the females in the house, such slurs have only proven to incite worldly exchanges into physical combat. In some extreme cases, they end up in violence and the use of guns. 

바카라�In a confrontational situation, if you can바카라�t say anything positive to lighten the situation, don바카라�t use negative words at least. You only aggravate the situation this way,바카라� says Sonia Dhanda, 22.  

Slurs have thus been attributed as yet another structured strategy to smother the limits of women empowerment. A comment directed at a body not only prompts the guard of a person but also adds to the objectification of their being. 

A trend of casually greeting each other using slurs has been witnessed especially among boys to win over the unspoken hierarchy of position. Slurring also has a sexist dimension and is slanted towards the 바카라�advantaged바카라� gender group.

Sanju experiences this routinely as she sees parents in her village overlook the slurred banters of their two sons and the girl gets slapped for uttering the slightest inappropriate word. 

For Gurgaon-based Rishida, 18, the normalisation of a boy being defiant for rules of selective speech springs up all the time. She says, 바카라�It바카라�s the 바카라�woh toh ladka hai, woh toh karega hi바카라� mentality.바카라�

Creating awareness is key 

Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) states that any provocation to a person intending to break peace or commit an offence can be punished with a jail term of two years or a fine or both. This specifies intentional abuses or offensive words as criminal in nature.

Even though the law is in place, creating awareness is key. 

In 2014, Sunil Jaglan launched the Gaali Bandh Abhiyan when he was the Gram Pradhan of Bibipur village in Haryana. The campaign, which began as a response to the casual use of abusive language within his village, was a crusade against the misogyny that goes hand-in-hand with swear words.  

As a father of two daughters, it bothered him that in the panchayat meetings, men would casually use slurs 바카라� most shamed women or their anatomy. 

Jaglan adopted a non-violent method of systematically reducing the practice of slurring in houses and schools in Haryana through a simple task of tracking the number of times a person has used abusive words and making a note of them in full public view. 

A committee was formed in the village to monitor the language of the residents. If found guilty, the perpetrators risked social boycott and it could escalate to even police action under Section 294 of the IPC which provides that those found guilty of obscene acts, songs, or words in public could face a prison sentence of up to three months. 

Gradually, Jaglan바카라�s campaign spread to 100 other neighbouring villages in Haryana. 

바카라�It worked. For instance, within a few months, many teachers stopped using slurs and actively took the initiative to be conscious of their language,바카라� says Jaglan.  

There are small victories. Bala, a middle-aged woman from Hisar, proudly narrates the instance when her mother beat a drunken man with a laathi (stick) for incessantly abusing them in front of her house. Calling it 바카라�pathar ka jawab patthar se바카라�, the two generations may not be educated but they acknowledge and stand up for their rights. 
Patriarchal mindset and Social conditioning 

While many such initiatives have been launched across the country, the problem is deep-rooted. There have been instances of politicians using abusive language on camera.   

바카라�Sometimes, police also abuse. In my village, people have been reporting instances of abuse, but nothing will change unless men and women in authority will learn to behave,바카라� says Jhakar. 

바카라�The society is based on a patriarchal mindset. Even adults use these words like they have no impact. Many laugh upon hearing these words, especially if they are being used in a casual, non-aggressive setting,바카라� says Kumud Sharma, a Bhopal-based social worker. 

She adds, 바카라�We often tell our boys that it is their duty to protect girls. This narrows down to solidifying the patriarchal mindset. It gives the male gender a sense of superiority.바카라� 

It perhaps explains why men get away after uttering abusive language, but women don바카라�t.  

The use of abusive language and sexist slurs has got so ingrained in our day-to-day life that often parents, both in urban and rural setups, end up using these words in front of their children. Many times, in aggravated situations, these abuses are used on children.  

바카라�It definitely has a negative impact on them. They start showing signs of emotional and mental issues, so much so that sometimes their physical growth is also affected. They lose self-confidence and experience anxiety and indecisiveness. Some cases lead to clinical depression,바카라� says Shyam Mithiya, a Mumbai-based psychologist.  

When we talk of culture, there is no doubt that a child knowingly or unknowingly would follow what is observed around them. 

바카라�A slur often also becomes so normalised that it eventually loses its literal sense, and everyone picks it,바카라� he adds. 

Easy access to web series 

Another factor that is worth taking into consideration is the easy access to web series on OTT platforms where the use of abusive language and sexist slurs are very common. The onus is on the makers of such web series.   

바카라�People from the entertainment industry are also a part of this society,바카라� says Barnali Ray Shukla, a scriptwriter. 바카라�We hear slurs right from the beginning of the day. In public space, there isn바카라�t any regulation. Similarly, when we make a film which reaches out as mass communication, there are some boundaries that are transcended.바카라�

While giving an example, Shukla says that she was an assistant director on the sets of Satya, which was set in the world of gangsters and a certain kind of language was used in the film. 바카라�Intent is much more important than content. If such language is used for effect, it is wrong, but if it is used to etch out a character, then there shouldn바카라�t be any problem.바카라� 

Shukla, however, agrees that it바카라�s alarming the kind of language children use today. 

바카라�Probably there are places where censorship saw a lag in the theatrical setting like OTT before,바카라� says Shukla. 
Pravesh Bhardwaj, a filmmaker, says none of us have learnt these slurs from movies. We picked these words in schools, colleges, or on the streets. 

바카라�Scriptwriters have not created this form of language. They are just using it. If the language of the street becomes the language of art, there is a huge sense of liberation. We can tell more stories. But I also realise that these abuses are becoming a formula for entertainment. There should be a certain discipline for using it,바카라� says Bhardwaj.