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Laughing Matters
The 13 subheads under which the cartoons and jokes are slotted are self-explanatory. From the mundane home and family to the thoughtful reflections at the end, the titles too can bring a smile to one’s face. In ‘Laughing at ourselves’, the cartoonists do introspection and turn in upon the feminists themselves. If the opening line is ‘achieving liberation requires serious deliberation,’ subsequently it is ‘We are Feminists! We are against ALL HIERARCHY! But yes, sometimes, there is some ANARCHY in our group and ‘Who says we are powerless. Haven’t they seen our power to gossip and nag?’ Patriarchal illogic takes a potshot at the tendency to call women illogical. When do men insist that women are illogical? When a woman doesn’t agree with them! When a man uses his brain, he is clever…when a woman does the same, she is calculating. Language has a few cliches such as writing her story instead of history, in fact, certain homilies, cliches and well-worn wisecracks take the joy out of jokes at times.
The book has been brought out by Jagori, an NGO that functions as a resource group for South Asian women. It publishes material and works on micro as well as macro effects of violence—from domestic violence to effects of war on women. No wonder ‘women want peace in South Asia and not pieces of it.’ The book brings out varying shades of humour, sometimes subtle and at others vigorous and in-your-face variety. The sheer injustice of it all is highlighted through witticisms, wisecracks and one-liners smart and oft-repeated. The reader at times smiles or mocks and even squirms, especially in the section on ‘love and marriage’, ‘sex’ and ‘growing up’, where the fun is laced with anger, sarcasm and bitterness. The effort is commendable as is the wide and varied input from various sources, since the book is for laughter and not profit, they are to consider it an act of solidarity and not mind if credit has not been given to them. Bindia Thapar’s cartoons and sketches are sharp and often do not need a text. The introduction to the book, marking 25 years of Jagori, is particularly sensitive and poignant. Both men and women can have a good laugh because nothing matters more than laughing with each other and not at one another. |
EMMA
Goldman, Lithuania-born US anarchist said about the Russian Revolution,
"If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be a part of your
revolution." By and large, the perception of the feminist movement
has been that of one where sloganeering, often dreary, reigns supreme.
Critics add to that perception images of viragos ready to sally forth
and wave flags. Reading this well brought out booklet which will banish
all such thoughts and force the reader to look at many issues with a
fresh perspective and, of course, laughingly agree that not only does
laughing matters but feminism too is an important matter and how.
It is ‘Home and family’
as well as ‘men, women and work’ that is particularly hilarious,
even rip-roaring, bring out as they do the unequal distribution of work
and the odds loaded against a woman both at the workplace and domestic
sphere.