Sexual agency of the individual and its seamless internalisation by society is an important aspect of women empowerment. It serves as a deterrent against exploitation and abuse. Definitely, only my rules apply on my body.

However, an obsessive propagation of the idea that sexual freedom is the only real freedom is myopic. It again reduces the woman to her body.

The equivalence drawn between (this obsessive idea of) sexual freedom and empowerment is manipulated behind the screen in the media industry itself. This manipulation is so subtle that you wouldn’t know how to question it.

As actors, if women are not comfortable about sexual conversations or lending their bodies to the expression of this idea of freedom, they are either considered conformist/prude at best, or not worthy of being an actor, at worst.

An actor’s craft is usually a measure of the extent to which he or she can let go of the consciousness of the body. And while that is a highly elevating thought, which also includes the spiritual, it has been mainly reduced to the body in the normative practice (by the employers)

Sure, you could say that no one forces an actor to be an actor. However, if we were to go back to the fundamental principles, how democratic would this powerful medium of expression, which prides itself on being able to propagate social and behavioural change,

be if it refuses to accommodate these actors too, without doubting their skill and giving them an equal platform? Again, this is not a defence of bad acting, but a signal towards what has come to constitute the idea of good acting in the eyes of those in position of employment.

Coming back to the original point. What if there are women who do not identify with this idea of freedom? Isn’t mainstreaming it through popular media and making it aspirational another form of coercion?

Depression, one of the biggest ailments of the modern world, is actually loss of meaning.

When that last man has been slept with, with your consent and agency, will it help you find meaning? If yes, go ahead. But, if it leaves you depressed, then surely this idea of freedom is not empowering you. You are your own judge.

This is an absolutely non-judgemental post. I have been reflecting on the idea of freedom and meaning-making. I would love to know your perspective on it.