Women are intelligent and smart, they can read and create, they can earn and be part of a good workforce but; they cannot run as fast, they cannot lift as much and they cannot make it on the field. The above given lines sums up how the society sees women and their potential. The Crazy Ad by Nike shatters the stereotypes and dents the notion that women are physically inferior.
We as a society now acknowledge that women have similar mental faculties as men do, but we still think she cannot play that straight drive as well, needs a man to lift her heavy baggage and say things like “ladki hai kitna karegi.” The hypocrisy is well captured by the advertisement wherein it points out how the so called effeminate aspects are also butchered apart.
“If we show emotions, we are dramatic and if we want to play against men then we are nuts.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whpJ19RJ4JY
The aforementioned line that is directly quoted from the advertisement indicates how patriarchal standards do not spare the emotions or the strength, either you are too masculine for a woman or too effeminate for a sports person. All this ties us down and echoes in the ears of every female athlete that; it is for the men; by the men and of the men. If it is a man’s world then field, courts, tracks and ground cannot include women and assimilation is also a detested reality because women simply are not strong enough.
Asking for equal opportunities and standing up against unfairness is crazy because women do not play quality game and certainly do not belong here. Playing is a favour that society does to women so, if women stand up for themselves then it’s considered ungratefulness and utter disregard. Women outperforming is an impossible event. It can be denied to the extent of women not being accepted as women. Underperform and you do not belong here, outperform and you are flawed, calmness is lack of passion and anger is lack of grace, women as leaders is beyond imagination and women who do not lead are not strong enough. This hypocrisy points the spectrum wherein women will just never fit in at any stage or level. They will be too much, too less, too demanding or too sacrificing.
The advertisement does not stop at denting and challenging stereotypes, it questions clothing standards, and motherhood versus athletics. Hijab does not make you a less strong fighter and motherhood does not make you a less committed athlete. You can wear full clothes or wear nothing and still ace it. You can choose to be pregnant and still slay the track. You can take your child on the field to cheer for you and not leave the field to be with the child.
It is a hard hitting advertisement which beautifully summarises the prejudices, bias, stereotypes and challenges that athletes from all walks of life had to face before making it big. Women were incapable of running marathons, they ran and women were becoming less lady-like by being athletes and they still had successful families. Rules and stereotypes existed, the so called crazy women broke it, bent it and did things their way. It attacked the social behaviour of putting women in boxes and comparing them to unmatchable thresholds which are mostly patriarchal in nature.
They are not on the same pedestal of investment as men’s games are but are expected to produce such results. If they do produce those results then the womanhood of the lady is defied. You either get to be a good sportsperson or a good woman. Good women do not play sport and good sportsperson cannot be good women. We condition men to be strong, fast and aggressive because it is desirable and a requisite in sport whereas, women are stopped from going out or playing and lifting after their periods. Despite the conditioning, we feel women inherently cannot make it big in sport. It is inherent or, is it us, the society?
The video is also very inclusive in terms of sports representation in region, race and religion. It shows various sports, different athletes of nationality and religion with one commonality that is “Craziness.” The struggles might change with the circumstances, the manifestation might be varied but, the reality of facing resistance and the spirit of making it big remains constant and consistent in every female athlete’s life.
Advertisements like these are one of the major reasons why Nike continues to be a favourite amongst female athletes. It is in line with the spirit of Nike upholding body positivity by signing plus size models for the brand, shattering religious boundaries by coming up with a Burka clad women and showing women around the world that they belong on the field, with their skin and identity.
The obstructions and the shackles exist to hold them down and chop their wings. These kickass women have learnt to fly with the weights and by outgrowing the chopped wings. In the era of toxic marketing and potential masculinity being sold as desirable, it is refreshing to see something so strong and raw. It breaks down the layers of bias and asks these women to take the negative notion of crazy and change it to being a winner, always and every single time. Don’t Wait, Just do it!!