something I heard on the radio the other day during a story promoting a new movie about a young girl just beginning to be aware of her sexuality.. "she is dressed provocatively in this scene, just like teenagers her age usually are". the comment made me think, that it was said so casually yet with some acceptance and understanding. you know what I mean if you've seen those undergrad women walking to school wearing shorts little more than bikini bottoms, with more than their legs showing. its a remarkable thing then to see men behind them walking without an untoward glance, when sometimes I can't take my eyes off. you really have to give the American (male) credit for how he has trained himself to not look (when will the Indian man get there). now, I'm not a lesbian (at least not to my knowledge) but a flab-less human body is beautiful. I love to sketch the human anatomy, and more often than not, when I do that I settle for the female. cos its beyond arguing that the female human body is really beautiful with all its curves suggesting gentleness. suggesting emotion, thought, love and intimacy.

so then you think of how teenage girls in this country (and some more) have the freedom to flaunt their new found sexuality. to share with the world her sudden surprising triumph that ohmygod she is beautiful. every woman has that stage in her life. when after months (maybe years) of stabbing aches in her chest and discomfort with her body, one day she looks at herself in the mirror and realizes that she is a beauty.

and then its always natural to want to show off anything beautiful you have. so there's a trend with age in the wardrobe of say, an American woman. in her teens she grows out of clothes chosen for her by her parents and into everything she imagined her idols to wear. with increasing access to more and more information, her teen idol image is wide, and she outdoes them all.

its all part of growing up. and it makes her proud of who she is. a woman. unashamedly so. and here their male compatriots must be given credit. who sometimes ogle, often desire, but rarely violate the female independence.

compare this age trend in an Indian woman's wardrobe. in my mom's generation there was a similar trend although always at a much lower freedom level. in their teens they wore skirts and trousers with trendy tops; but never showed more than their arms and necks and maybe ankles and knees. a halter top was like the limit that caused whispers and nudges. they were limited to admiring themselves alone in front of the mirror or maybe were too incredulous to do that because the world didn't seem to second their opinion. a show of body was considered outrageous and not beautiful. that trained their opinion likewise. and once they got married there was a natural shift in trend to Indian clothes, and even saris were taught to hide the slim pretty waists.

the Indian teenager who grew up with me saw a lot of societal change in her life in her country. she was told repeatedly that she was no less in any way than a man. and yet she was told to cover herself up. she grew up wanting to feel beautiful. but she was told she wasn't safe if she was attractive. she was more aware and exposed to the world than her mother and had more temptations to compete and show herself off. and therefore the world around her pushed back a little harder, clearly setting boundaries for her. she fought off the ban on hip-hugging jeans, then shorter tops, and by the time she fought off the ban on showing off her legs a little higher than her knees, she was already in her twenties. which meant she had to stay there, quit the fighting and give some part of her life to more serious stuff (like Economics). this had already led to something of a reverse of the age-trend in her wardrobe.

finally in her late twenties after she was married she found a different freedom. her marriage became a handover of responsibility, and an acceptance of coming of age. such that now no one could blame her for being irresponsibly clad.

many of my friends experimented with showing off their body for the first time when they were 25+. women who thought their legs were stocky and misshapen wear shorts and minis now, and pose for photographs to put up on their facebook accounts. the off-shoulder, backless dresses they should have rightfully worn as teenagers came to them much later in life. I have beautiful shoulders and yet I've not so far shown them off. before my age starts showing on them, I should take my chance.