The Hindu – Saturday, March 24, 2001 

Boys vs Girls
by R. Krithika

What do most teenagers think of gender issues? This question was answered at the group discussion organized by Goodbooks Bookstore and Resource Centre on March 16. The event moderated by Srividya Natarajan, dancer, academician and well-known illustrator of children’s books, covered a range of topics from the so-called eve teasing, the difference in attitudes towards boys and girls, parental control, dowry, marriage, and the most often debated question of working women.

About 30 students from six Chennai schools – Bala Vidya Mandir, Bhaktavatsalam Vidyashram, Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, Rajaji Vidyashram, Sishya and Vidya Mandir participated in the at times heated discussion.

Opening the issue of harassment, a boy from Bala Vidya Mandir felt that men were more oppressed, attracting the ire of not only the girls at large but also some of the boys present. Most agreed that women, irrespective of age or appearance, were harassed leading to an interesting aside on whether it is wrong to admire a good-looking woman. The girls felt that an admiring glance was alright but not ogling or staring.

They narrated instances of harassment, which they had encountered. Those who fought back regretted that most people remained onlookers.

A natural progression from this was the issue of protection and control. Evidently, different sets of rules were applied to girls and boys. Girls talked of a nosy society in which their every action was scrutinized, dissected and blown out of proportion. This, they felt, put pressure on their parents who came down with rules for "protection". Not that they objected to it. Parental control was fine so long as it did not spring from the tales of the neighbours and relatives. The general response was to blame "society". Who constituted society was a question that met with sheepish looks all round.

Another hotly debated issue was housework – rather why it is looked down upon. While many of the boys did not seem to object to helping out at home, some of them drew the line firmly at men being home makers or earning less than their wives. "It would give me an inferiority complex if my wife was the breadwinner," said one. But another felt that if he was doing something he loved and was comfortable with, he did not care who earned more....

Sadly, the discussion had to be wound up midway since the children had to return to school. An interesting hour, indeed.