ABSTRACT
My thesis examines the multiple facets of female roles in a desi family (desi is a term for the people of the Indian subcontinent or South Asia and their diaspora). Being a young woman from this culture, I have experienced many of these pressures firsthand growing up. Desi youth are trained to focus on becoming successful in their professional and social life. Desi women, however, have to seamlessly blend professional and social success with maintaining and raising the next generation.
Creating her own identity becomes hard when one is already chosen for her.
My work opens up a dialogue of social commentary on some of the truths about what it’s like being a young woman in a society of overbearing cultural expectations.
A RESPECTABLE NAUKRI
The three most respected professions in any desi household are a doctor, engineer, and lawyer, in that particular order. Kids who stray away from these chosen career paths and go on to pursue anything else are often bombarded with statements and questions like “you won’t find financial stability with that career” or “how will you earn a living doing that?”. Society places a lot of pressure on young people to begin working as soon and as hard as possible. The idea of stability became something that we are taught to value above all else. But what does stability even look like to someone who has never experienced real life on their own?
To highlight this somewhat funny but tragic contradiction that happens in our society I created a series of real diplomas that explain the added conditions of pursuing such careers.
A PERFECT BAHU
South-Asian families begin tossing the idea of marriage around their daughters as soon as they hit puberty. At first, it starts as jokes that are meant to harmlessly poke fun at you. But as you grow older these jokes turn into more serious discussions involving your parents and sometimes extended family.
The desi bride’s survival kit™ contains all the things required to become the perfect bride. I repackaged the qualities of an ideal desi bride according to Indian society and created a subversive statement through this retail style kit.
A LADKI WITH A CAUSE
I wanted to bring my thesis together by creating an identity for it. I think that this really helped me make my thesis my own. I developed a visual system that could be applied throughout various projects but still exist on its own.
My main goal for this project was to provoke people. They are to remind my audience to question some of these societal norms and keep fighting for what they know they deserve.
