Working Indian Women Are Changing Bollywood Narratives, Says Zoya Akhtar
It’s a start.
In The Buzz Cut, we give our take on all of the intellectual and Internet-famous, celebrity and bizarre, buzzy and overlooked family and parenting news we gossiped about all week.
Women at work. Bollywood filmmaker Zoya Akhtar reveals that the evolving roles of women at work in the modern Indian society play a large role in the changing narrative of cinema. One major badass changing a few narratives herself: New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the youngest female world leader, who is on the brink of motherhood and leading by example, proving women can govern countries and be parents, too. And this piece talks about women in developing countries, who are breaking social and cultural barriers to have careers in science.
Gender and Sexuality. With the making of Ocean’s 8, Hollywood is continuing a trend of making or remaking old movies with female leads replacing the previous male ones. Instead of creating females versions with same characteristics as their male counterparts, Hollywood still seems to be creating women leads that conform to certain ideas, with their lives revolving around a man. And speaking of conforming, this piece is about confining boundaries of masculinity. And this piece enlightens us on the experience of being asexual.
Mental Health. The deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain were a recent public reminder of rising numbers of suicide worldwide. This woman talks about the guilt that friends and family of suicide victims experience, in contemplating what they could have done to prevent it. One woman wrote about her borderline personality disorder and her journey to getting herself diagnosed for it.
Parenthood. While Kylie Jenner has decided to remove all pictures of her baby Stormi from social media, Khloe Kardashian has shared adorbs pictures of her daughter True Thompson this week. And Angelina Jolie is in danger of losing custody of her children if she doesn’t allow Brad Pitt to spend more time with them. And speaking of children, if you want your kids to be less picky about what they eat, here’s how to do it. The trick? Lay off the kids’ menu. And this piece talks about how there is a growing number of single men who want to have children and are opting for biological babies through surrogacy.
Dating. The internet is going nuts with the news of Ariana Grande’s engagement to Pete Davidson after less than a month of dating each other. And one can’t help but wonder if a marriage works better if a couple has dated each other for a good amount of time before tying the knot. And dating in the 21st century is as complicated as ever. Here’s one on the racial politics behind a black woman choosing to date a white partner.
Business & Ethics. The marijuana market in India is booming. Read about these Indian entrepreneurs who are selling various paraphernalia for smoking weed. And read about these Vietnamese women who are selling their long hair to hair traders in the business of making hair extensions.