What Do “White Girl Jobs” Say About Indian Male Attitude Towards Women?
In the last 10 years there has been a growing “market” for hiring white, preferably blonde, western women among certain elite circles in India. These include Bollywood (the film industry), Premiere League Sports, like IPL, and wedding and corporate parties.
An anonymous British woman recently wrote a column where she talked about her experience of working for what are now called “White Girl Jobs” in India. Below is an excerpt from her column:
As a Brit living in India I have become accustomed to the attention that my alabaster complexion receives — mostly positive; sometimes not. However, there is a bizarre new trend emerging amongst Delhi’s middle-classes: hiring Western women to work at weddings, parties, club openings and the like. “That sounds a little seedy,” I said to my friend who first told me about the line of work, dubbed simply as ‘White Girl Jobs’. Jobs include anything from the mundane — greeting guests upon arrival or helping out behind the bar — to performing as a drummer, acting as living tables, belly dancing and even stripping… But what do the guests think? It is for them that a significant number of patrons are willing to pay a premium to hire ethnically Caucasian staff, rather than local workers. Sex sells and having pretty girls on show never did business any harm. However, having spoken with girls who work at club openings, or who are just paid to go to clubs, the `office environment’ seems a little different. They are paid to attend club nights, be bought drinks, dance around in skimpy dresses and bathe in the attention of amorous men with voyeuristic intentions. There is a lot of money to be made in this industry by both parties. Girls are paid anywhere between Rs 5,000 and 10,000 for one night of work, with some jobs going on for a few nights. The event organizers earn 10% commission on each payment, so if you are orchestrating some 10 to 20 girls, it works out to a pretty good wage for an evening’s work…
Skin colour has always been a contentious issue in India. [Indian women] spend crores each year on skin lightening products to achieve their ideal of “white beauty”. But as a white woman participating in this industry and a client paying them to do so, you are not only profiting but perpetuating an already well-established beauty myth that lighter skin is better.
However, isn’t there more to hiring blonde, white women than skin color and racial complexes as this British woman thinks?
How do western white women take to be wooed as “commodities” to “decorate” the parties and premises of wealthy Indians? In a country where thousands of women are trafficked as “brides, ” bought, sold, shared by men and resold; where thousands of women are tortured and killed for wealth through dowry, shouldn’t western women be thinking about their role in perpetuating a cultural system that truly regards women as commodities and accessories to be used, bought, sold and trashed?
Here’s another reality check on that from an article in an Indian magazine. It lists “Blonde Cheerleaders” as Item No.2 in this article on “The Ten Sporting Things You Can Get In India You Can’t Get In China.” And this is what it says:
“Delicate, demure and very modest, Indian girls are simply far too bashful to stand about dancing semi-naked in support for their teams. However, that isn’t to say that the red-blooded Indian male doesn’t appreciate “a bit of skirt,” …So they import them… There have been some mutterings of “debauchery” among the more conservative Indian groups, but for sure …The numbers of Indian men attending IPL matches in Mumbai the past two weeks has been eerily equivalent to the numbers of Chinese men visiting karaoke bars in Shanghai…[but] it really is all about shimmying that groove thong out in the open in front of a hot blooded, masculine crowd of 20,000 plus.
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“shouldn’t western women be thinking about their role in perpetuating a cultural system that truly regards women as commodities and accessories to be used, bought, sold and trashed?”
yes.
Easy to point the fingers at the women. If women are needing work, & they get offered some work for quite good money, they’ll take it. Better to point the finger at the men organising it don’t ya think?
wow
I know that women in the west are often horrified by terrible accounts of different forms of violence on women and girls in India, and the resulting genocide of women. And I hope that they can see that this is an extension of the system that dehumanizes women and treats them like buy-able, sell-able and trash-able “items.” Also, I do believe that this could lead to more horrifying trends. Right now with the gender ratio plummeting in many parts of India, there is widespread trafficking of women, not only within India but also from other countries like Nepal and Bangladesh. But if this continues, it won’t be long before ‘white’ women will become a part of this trafficking.
Again… why is it always the women who get pointed at? With prostitution, most of the times the women are either forced into it or it’s what the see as their only way to make ends meet. They shouldn’t be shunned. It’s the pimps that make the industry & the men who buy them that should be shunned.
There is no end to what rich people can spend money on, this is the nettop proof that they are richer than everyone else.
It is the feminists’ problem is that they assess women as they were men. And in doing so, they help suppress women.
There are two kinds of women. Those without self-esteem and those with high self-esteem. Those without self-esteem hiding away. And those with high self-esteem display themselves together.
The Indian women’s problem is that even feminists oppress them.
Who are we to say what someone else should spend their money on. Honestly if I were loaded I be doing the same thing. Don’t hate someone for trying to live “The Indian Dream” or in this case buy it. They want women who can give them daughters like Katrina Kaif.
What goes on in parties, where these women are “purchased” is in no way comparable to being tortured, killed for dowries. and being trafficked; all of which are activities that happen against the will of the victim. There is a clear violation of consent in the latter, and in the former, it is done willingly. And I was hoping you’ve give us something far more substantial than the opinions of two idiotic articles. With your logical form, you can attempt to draw a parallel between anything. Everything from dancing to money, to drawing for money requires “purchasing” that person for some time so that they can dispense their talents. As such, this promotes a culture where thousands of women are trafficked.
Anyone can attempt your pseudo-intellectual claptrap, it really isn’t that hard. In fact, your arguments are one that is so commonly used sex negative feminists, and it has been thoroughly crushed by sex positive feminists.
Well, we WHITE People just KNOW We’re SUPERIOR, but we couldn’t say it, because we wouldn’t be believed.
Thank you BOLLYWOOD ! You’re telling the WORLD Just what we WHITES wanna Hear!