The new iron maiden’s here

Back in the past it is likely that a story like this one would have perforce been given visual support in the form of a shadowy non-identifiable sari-clad figure, the simple reason being that most Indian women — including professional models — would have baulked at putting their faces to a headline as punchy as this one.

But this is 2003, now outrageousness is a way of life, so one would expect that there would have been a queue of willing desi ladies keen to be seen preening from the cover of a prestigious national weekly.

Then why did the ‘‘foreign’’ look get precedence? Was it out of concern for the male reader by any chance? I cannot pretend to know the factors that went into the making of this particular decision but it does seem like the fair skinned lady with her half smile looks inviting and playful. Would her sultry sister seething with ‘‘intimate desires’’ have seemed too close, too threatening? And what does it say for the self image of the Indian woman to be represented by one who looks so little like her?

There is a disturbing hint on pages 54-55 of the same issue of the magazine. An article on ‘‘Dressing and Sex’’ describes a growing tendency among Indian women to decry their own desi buxom body shape in favour of one fashionable abroad.

‘‘The Indian woman could be a fashion victim, under pressure to fit into a standardised idea of perfection. Diet diva Shikha Sharma observes that Indian women want to banish their boobs and starve their hips.’’ Sharma goes on to say: ‘‘Bulimia and anorexia are becoming common. Until she gives up the idea of becoming the perfect woman as prescribed by western standards, she can never be comfortable with herself.’’

This is not a new trend. Ever since Sushmita Sen led the charge of the Miss World/Universe brigade, aspirations of Indian women have found a new outlet. Fed by music channels and other media many, particularly in the younger generation, have tended to discard local forms of dress in favour of more trendy western outfits. Attitudes towards ‘‘revealing clothes’’ too have changed. As the India Today story tells it: ‘‘On the one hand she (the Indian woman) seems to be winning the battle against external perceptions of sexiness… On the other hand she may be losing her battle with her self esteem.’’

This, however, is just one part of the story and one possible conclusion. The reality is a little more complex and certainly more confusing. While Indian women — fed by media images — are chasing the western look with its emphasis on thinness, flatness, etc, etc, another phenomenon has been taking place which is the actual invasion of models/actresses/dancers from the West.

Look around and one sees them everywhere: in print ads, on music videos and performing belly dances at live shows. There is news everyday of some foreign actress of minor notoriety being signed for a Bollywood film or expressing the desire to act in one.

Boom, the latest glossy Indo-West product, has Zeenat Aman sharing credits with the former Hollywood sizzler Bo Derek, and among the women currently lighting up the modeling firmament are names such as Yana Gupta and Katrina Kaif, women of part or full foreign origin.

The interesting thing is that many of these attractive women from abroad (Yana, Katrina, Bo) making waves here appear to sport the very same buxom figure that the Indian woman is trying so hard to lose. So what the hell is going on?

One possible hypothesis: the Indian woman wants to look like something she is not. The Indian man has found a replacement fantasy from abroad: busty, fair skinned, big hipped. What does that do for the Indian woman’s chances of fulfilling her intimate desires? As some of the respondents said in answer to the more probing questions in the India Today survey: ‘‘Don’t Know/ Won’t say.’