This continues to happen to me repeatedly, though I realize I am not doing anything wrong – every time there is a lady with her bra strap clearly showing around the neck-shoulder area, I feel this weird anxiety overcome me. It is as if my mind splits into two halves. One party says that looking at them is not wrong since I didn’t pull them out of their safe confines. The other, more vocal half keeps saying that looking at them is rude and looking at them and pretending not to be aware of their presence is even ruder! You are still lying! I think it is time I got another appointment with my shrink.
I have been confronted by some female colleagues since this blog was posted. It seems all of them think that it is rude for men to stare, no matter what type of strappy contraption befalls their line of vision. My argument is that we should not feel embarrassed about something that is not the result of ill intentions or perverse plans. Is it criminal to observe something we did not intend to happen but just happened to present itself? I understand the difference lies in doing something too upfront, in a way that is too brutally honest, but then how do you draw the line every time - in fact, are you always in control of this line?
I recall this TV interview with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, where Abhishek was asked what he finds most beautiful in a woman, and Sir Ji was quick to prompt, "say nothing below the eyes"... must be that let-us-look-our-best coffee show with Karan Johar. Though this seems like the gentlemanly thing to do, is it always doable? Can a man actually promise that never-ever, when having come across such unplanned moments of cleavage or surrounding landscape displays, he has looked the other way? Again, expecting this from men or actually believing that some men have a control mechanism so rightfully footed in their subconscious is believing a bit too much, beyond the realms of reality. Let us get real.
Let us not expect so much from a community [Adam's Apple Inc.] that has no history of restraint, is sexually deprived, and cannot be taught the better side of social mannerisms!