Here’s a point-counterpoint exchange on that oldie-but-goodie, the Image of the Community:
“Your definition of ethical or moral may differ from my definition and from everyone else’s for that matter. It does take guts to do what these people have done and they are the new generation and the ideals they have are different from your generation, which luckily is passing on. I do not think by having this calendar out there, it will hurt our reputation as desis…”
“Please, please do not go there. The reason we Indians are held in high regard in America is because we are seen as law-abiding citizens, diligent professionals and model immigrants. Now if we develop and market trashy calendars and magazines, what will our image be in five years? It will be downhill from hereon.”
Those are two commenters on an interview of Saroosh Gull, publisher of DesiClub.com, by Arun Venugopal for the SAJA website. Now the last time we heard from DesiClub.com here at SM, it had to do with Paris Hilton, sorority jokes, and an Indian character called “Poo Poo,” so you can see what direction we’re headed in here.
Gull’s new product on the market is a bikini calendar of “Sexy South Asian Girls of 2007.” It came out last week and there are launch parties taking place in various cities for the next few weeks. (Here’s a sample of the advertising.) Something called Bibi Magazine is also involved, so perhaps we’re meant to understand that the bibi-saabs are giving their blessing, but you might have a different opinion when you see the product. Connoisseurs of the genre will also note the blend of representational approaches taken from white and black girlie pubs, although all the models but one are rather light skinned, surprise surprise. The text seems to follow the standard format with models listing their hobbies (which include “bubble baths,” “wearing stilettos,” “eating cupcakes,” “partying,” and “shopping, shopping and more shopping”) and aspirations (similar).
Anyway, here’s a bit of Arun’s interview with Saroosh Gull:
These women – how did you find them?
We found all of our models by doing a model search on our site, DesiClub.com, and by utilizing our relationships with key players in the South Asian-American scene. It wasn’t easy finding 12 Desi girls who wanted to pose in Bikinis, but we actually found 17, of which only 12 made it to the calendar.
Given that this is a desi calendar, you could’ve dressed your models in, say, salwar kameez. But you chose bikinis instead. Why?
I don’t think anyone wants to see South Asian models in salwar kameez, that’s been killed and killed again by the existing fashion outlets, who do nothing but the same thing over and over again. That was also part of the reason for doing what we did, to showcase South Asian women in a way that they have never been shown before. It puts a whole new perspective on South Asian-Americans being in the mainstream and not repeating the cliched Indian fashion look of saris and salwar kameez – not that there is anything wrong with that but we wanted to project an American look and that is what we accomplished.
Elsewhere, in the project’s press release, Gull says this:
..our main objective in producing this calendar was to showcase the beauty of South Asian women and to project an image to the mainstream market that South Asian women are just as “American,” being beautiful, attractive and capable in the mainstream fashion and modelling world as Latinas, Blacks, Whites and other Asians, if not more so. By advancing with this agenda, we are doing something that has never been done before, which makes this entire project and the impact it will have truly ground breaking.
So he’s actually raising the community’s image. You be the judge. Respectful comments only, please.
Couldnt you have found a way to combine this with the Saddam post?
I just ordered my copy.
I hate to say this, but why do they all look the same?!!
Bibi Mag is Houston based. They do some fashion events around here.
At least they are not going into stereotypical desi professions, like, god forbid, medicine.
That was supposed to be a joke…
Desishiksa, would you like a hug?
The possibilities implied in this section of Mr. Gull’s press release that had me chuckling for a whole minute; an eyeful of South Asian sistas with jelebis is exactly what is required to make the diasporic Diwalis, Ids et al more, umm, authentic.
I think the most important issue raised by this post is “how does one go about becoming a key player in the South Asian-American scene?”
Some of the girls are good-looking, and I think this calendar (or something like it) was inevitable, but part of me still can’t believe 2nd gen desi girls would pose for pictures like that (and that part of me cringes a little). But then, all you have to do is look at bhangra videos from the UK or Canada to realise that quite a few girls from (presumably) conservative and strict families, are nonetheless out there doing what they want (or what is wanted from them) anyway.
I think I’m going to start hanging out on desiclub.com forum message boards from now on. What would the SepiaMutiny calendar look like? A bunch of tasteful, artistic pictures of diaspora ironies and the wistful complexities of our lives.
Forget that, give me naked brown women with Americano accents! Let us in to your Las Vegas soul America! We belong to you! Look, waxed and buffed and spicy too.
Alright, unless you guys dress up in bikinis and release a calendar in response, I’m leaving for good. You will find me on desiclub.com. Under the name london_desi_stud or indian_gangsta_playa.
A calendar? That’s small potatoes…what this world needs is a desi Bond girl.
I did kind of get up on the wrong side of bed this morning…
Amitabh re #9: if you’ve seen the song picturisation for “Mama Told Me” from Ek Ajnabee, you’ll see it’s not a far stretch for something like the DesiClub calendar to come about…
Don’t think there’s anything wrong with the calendar in itself, though it does serve to exoticize desi women in the US-American context.
I was at Newark airport yesterday and watching CNN on the TV screens, when they had a pretty detailed coverage of the bhangra scene in NYC, mainly featuring DJ Rekha. Didn’t get to watch all of it, but wondering if anyone else caught that.
OK a few initial thoughts…
And yet again Abhi you don’t got game if you are asking that i/o claiming to be one of those “key players”
Oh Amitabh have you seen some of the videos out of INDIA? They would put a 50 cent video to shame. So whats with the double standard with second generation desis? BTW some of them are many generations removed and some of them were actually born in India.
The guy’s a joke to call this ‘groundbreaking’ for the image of South Asian women. Everyone thinks they’re hot already. Now if he’d made a calendar showing a bunch of South Asian ballbuster women, with short bios of their ballbusting, that would have been groundbreaking…
Whatever – those girls all look the same and all look like cookie-cutter porn types. Where the hell do these Gull people get the idea that being desi = saris and salwar kameezes? Have they ever seen an “item number”? Malaika, Mallika Sherawat and Co. would put all these plastic chicks to shame.
Agreed. The gyrations and skimpy outfits in movies these days is much more titillating than some desi women posing in bikinis.
Amitabh, have you seen Dhoom 2? Bipasha’s Rio beach scene was almost obscene and had me blusing with the T & A shots while she was doing “yoga” on the beach. Are you cringing because the girls posing are “everyday” girls and not Bollywood heroines?
I’m a little disappointed that this is even is an issue for some people. Because really, if the girls want to pose for the calendar, what’s the big deal? There are worse things they could do and obviously there is a market for it.
Exploitation. Community standards. It’s always intersting when feminism and conservatism intersect. The traditionalists are right; unless personal freedom is restricted, bikini calanders, porn, single mothers, breakdown of the family, drug abuse, and then crime, are bound to follow.
free to choose
I think the Kingfisher swimsuit model calendar from India is far better. No offense to anyone though.
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Holy shit you are right. Wow. Way edgier and sexier without the raunch factor that seems to be in the Desiclub shoots. The location, lighting, makeup, hair, poses and dare I say bodies etc are all far superior as well.
“Co-Publisher, Ojas Vaidya added, “The calendar is for all South Asians, as it has all of the Muslim, Hindu and Sikh holidays noted on it, along with Christmas, Easter and so on. We wanted to make sure that we weren’t just putting together some sexy pictures for people to look at, but its actually a pretty good and informative calendar. As you know, its very hard to find a calendar that has all South Asian holidays on it. I, myself am very happy to have something on my wall that shows all the days we, as Desis celebrate.”
What a load of bullsh*t, whats he gonna say next, he reads playboy for the articles? This is probably the business to be in right now, he makes money and rides the “controversy” wave a little while until people realize they were duped. The girls in the calendar aren’t even all that to begin with.
“..our main objective in producing this calendar was to showcase the beauty of South Asian women and to project an image to the mainstream market that South Asian women are just as “American,”…”
No offense, but why would you want to be just like everyone else? And why would you want to judge based on standards of beauty that is so obviously skewed?
And I quite agree with ATLDesi–they all look the same!
Questions I wish the interviewer would have asked: What is the “South Asian-American scene”? Are Sepia Mutiny types included in it, or is this the scene somewhere else? Does the “South Asian-American scene” really mean the indian dance parties at the city nightclubs? Do I have to be a Bhangra DJ or club promoter to be a “key player” in the scene? Are any of the 2nd gen Indian people featured in the news and on sites like Sepia Mutiny part of the “South Asian-American scene”?
wow.
i think it’s “a good thing”. The US and A society is ridiculously sexualized and its weird to think people with brown skin won’t participate. anyone with issues about this should take it up with the culture at large. otherwise, we participate in our own othering. viva brown sex symbols, men and women and viva chastity!
kingfisher is definitely much better (has the backing of vijay mallya, the best photographers and stylists, a big budget, ability to jet around the world, some of india’s top models). but comparing the two is like comparing south asian american beauty pageants to femina miss india. two different levels.
To be honest, the calendar just looks like amateur run of the mill swimsuit calendars. I was actually a little horrified by some of the granny panties, but maybe that’s just me.
I can’t believe that this is even an issue, especially considering the ‘family-entertainment’ of Bollywood nowadays, which is increasingly approaching soft-porn…
Well, they even admitted they could only find 17 girls (or women) who were willing to pose for it! (which can’t really be true…)
The question is…who is going to buy this calendar? South Asian men…or white guys? I feel like the second market might be a little more exploitative…For example, if my husband (a non-desi) bought this calendar it would be more likely to lead me to wonder why I married him than if he bought just a generic Sports Illustrated type calendar.
Eh yeah me too. Plain white or pastel swimwear…what is up with that? Two prints that are screaming 1992. Most of the pictures look like they were taken in someone’s living room and the poses are just borderline porn versus fierce.
hahaa, yeah i think they were going for fierce but it unfortantely comes close to “mai pudth maran lagi”
Knowing Saroosh, I’m just glad he didn’t opt for Mr. December.
innnnnneristing idea, would like to know more about it. only second-hand have i seen this bc most people know better than to exoctificatioarily talk when i’m listening. do tell!
btw, objectificatoirly or not, the girl on the Kingfisher web site…..now that is how you wear a belly ring. nee mai marja
innnnnneristing idea, would like to know more about it.
Well, only that wouldn’t it be a little creepy if this suddenly became the most popular pin up calendar and a bunch of white guys were salivating over the South Asian hotties.
yeah i agree, but you’re not using words like “other” and “objectication” enough for it to be really juicy
desishiksa & sahej:
just curious (about how the ant-exotification crowd thinks), but how would you feel if this suddenly became the most popular pin up calendar and a bunch of black guys
I don’t know – you make something for mass consumption, then it seems silly to try to control your audience. I mean, we are in the U.S. (mostly white); from a financial perspective it wouldn’t help these guys to make something that’s only sold in a niche (S.Asian) market.
Also, in terms of “integrating South Asian beauty” in the
pornswimwear-fashion industry, it seems you’d want to (ultimately) move towards an integrated model anyway.Anyway, granny panty bikinis are sooooo out.
not the same thing…black guys don’t represent the colonizers, the man, hegemony, the establishment–in fact, they are also the other. Is it possible for the other to other the other? (there, Sahej, does that make you happy?:))
yeah, thats a pretty fierce ratio of other:non-other words
thanks desishiksa, i get it. could you also eloborate on this:
so if your husband is attracted specifically to desi women, you’d be concerned?
in general i think the ant-exotification crowd is partial to fire ants
don’t forget the aunt-exotification crowd.
Camille, what’s wrong with people properly coverings their butts with cloths?
Well, not really, because I don’t think people should be held accountable for who they are attracted to, but if he had a calendar of all desi women that would imply that he’s making an issue of his attraction while being married to one which would then lead me to believe that he is objectifying me rather than just being attracted to me…it’s a thin line…and this is just how I feel about it, it’s not supposed to be a foolproof argument.
This can be made into a strong statement. A Japanese woman I know of dropped her boyfriend after she found out he was all “into Japanese culture” – food, music, movies, books and hentai. She felt like another item on the menu.
The site’s music is sooooo retro-gay. It reminds me of porn movies where you can hear the radio ads, because they use the local station as a soundtrack .
Talking of a community’s image, maybe we need a post on the lines of “Ask A Mexican”?
I’m glad to hear women say that!
JOAT was right at # 15
In addition, having been first tipped off to the thriving South Asian porn industry by that scene in Monsoon Wedding i’m constantly learning from my utterly shameless male cousins that there are dozens of south asian porn sites on the web, the silliest-sounding has got to be “damaalsex” (or some variation thereof) but we’ve since adopted “desibaba.com” as a personal moniker for… for… umm, i really can’t say here :b
So anyway, my point? The calendar is not really a big deal–either in terms of cultural shock or cultural value.
And no, granny panties are NOT out. I see them everywhere these days, and i promise you, they look ridiculously hot.
It’s only not hot when the granny panty is on a granny, but that’s just me, the Times says different.