You could argue that women were the original 24x7 workers. You could also argue, that Epic Spiritual’s response to Nike’s Da Da Ding video is not just a brilliant argument along these lines, but is also a delightful contribution to making women’s work visible.
Nike’s ad, released earlier this month, was a refreshing break from the glorification of male sportspersons, and the relegation of sport to the male domain by default. It is important that a major company focused on Indian sportswomen. It did make women in sport visible. But let’s face it, it was an ad whose feminist credentials are somewhat limited.
That’s why Epic Spiritual’s video response to that ad is so delightful. Along with the women that Nike has featured, Epic shows women who never feature in the urban imagination.
The beauty of Epic Spiritual’s video, uploaded on YouTube on July 26, is that it captures women’s work in its entirety: chores to keep the household running, looking after family members, working for sustenance and working for payment. But the video also ensures that it does not reduce women to mere workers. You can see them dance, smile, work, and simply be.
As the video says: Been doing it. Barefoot.
Let’s see Nike do that.