When Journalism Turns Trashy, Trash Turns Glamorous!

Okay. Get this. It's mind-numbing cold outside. Everyone is thinking of some way or the other to keep themselves warm and survive through the winter, and live to tell the tale. However, cold does not bring money. So, you gotta do what you gotta do. Work from home.

Okay. Get this. It's mind-numbing cold outside. Everyone is thinking of some way or the other to keep themselves warm and survive through the winter, and live to tell the tale. However, cold does not bring money. So, you gotta do what you gotta do. Work from home.

When a journalist, who is so-so people's person, works from home; what do you think happens? I mean, as it is, we don't see much bright streak in journalism enough to continue the subscription of our papers and magazines shelling out the hard-earned money, what kind of stories do we look forward to read?

Shutting shops is the new trend in the media. Not too many papers and magazines are around which are confident of their future. With this being the case, 'innovative' means of getting the readers to buy and most importantly read the stuff, you need to blend too many things together. For instance, when a reader is interested in technology, fitness, money, entrepreneurship, silicon valley, women, entertainment and also a bit of promiscuity, class and glamour thrown in, how would you churn out a story?

Well, a UK-magazine thought of bringing it together very well in an article. Just that after the initial read, the story found more people reading it just to feel the rage building inside them (to beat the cold, of course) than reading it for interest it generated. The magazine, until then, had probably intended to give a fitting tribute to the women behind the silicon valley success sagas. But, imagination was the spoilsport.

Sad, did you say? Now, figure this.

Silicon Valley Wives and Girlfriends is supposed to be the new key word. They are classy, sassy, mix glamour with money, confident to the core which makes them an exclusive lot. They are not Hollywood wannabes - who hanker for 'something' a small role and don't mind going through the 'compromises' they need to make or the 'games' they gotta play. Silicon Valley Wives and Girlfriends (also called Swags) are women who don't mind marrying into equity. They are not sad or sod stories. But they are stories of today's women who know how to present themselves on a level playing field. And, when a field is denied to them, they are dead-sure about the ways and means it would take to 'create' a level playing field.

What's noteworthy is the response of those women who have been featured, and 'glamourized' through the edition. As corporate world has seen women turning more and more emasculated, in order to climb the success ladder, the story probably comes at a time when women see the need to turn in their 'feminine' side again. But then, talking about changing equations is one thing; what the article talks about is something that takes the 'hard work' out of silicon successes.

The women there are not dolls who cling on to a successful man. They have been shoulder-to-shoulder in his success, or have created successes with their own hard work. Effeminate men probably face less criticism compared to an emasculate woman. She is perceived as a trickster, corny, smartass and mostly, a charlatan of sorts, with some good curves thrown in to use along the way.

To deduce silicon valley success stories to just the 'clever' decisions would be something that can attract drastic remarks from one part of the society that has seen women struggle hard to even be given the voting rights. Equality is a bad word here. But, what this article talks about is the image attributed to women since centuries. And, that's where the problem is. None of the women would ever want to time travel, at least on this aspect. So, please! Spare them the torture.

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