Many male actors post shirtless pictures, why not ask them to cover up?
Esha Gupta has often been trolled and slut shamed for posting sultry pictures of herself on social media. Recently, the actor shared some pictures while sunbathing at a balcony. They featured her topless, with her back facing the camera. And once again, her Instagram was flooded with risqué comments.
“It’s a gender bias. So many male actors put up shirtless pictures. Why not ask them to cover up? People look at them and go, ‘Waah bhai! Kya body hai’,” Gupta, 35, points out. She also expresses exasperation over people who hold women responsible for promoting rape with their outfit choices: “It’s their mentality that’s to be blamed. A woman’s clothes making people think about rape is problematic,” she adds.
Though trolls used to bother her a few years back, she has now learnt to turn a deaf ear to them. The One Day: Justice Delivered (2019) actor says, “I’ve matured to the level where I don’t react anymore. I understand that people will point fingers, no matter what you do. I remember putting up a picture in a saree and somebody wrote, ‘Aaj poore kapdon mein photo daala hai!’ When I post a picture with makeup on, I’m called ‘plastic beauty’. When I post a picture without it, they call me ugly and say I need makeup.”
The problem lies at a basic level, believes Gupta. “There are many who don’t like girls who’re upfront. But people know that I’m strong and if someone slaps me, I’m going to slap them twice,” she says, adding, “This isn’t just limited to our country. It happens everywhere in the world, despite conversations about gender inequality and sexism. I wish we become more progressive in our thoughts.”