Celebrity wardrobe malfunctions get clicks, but how low do we go?

That Suhana is below eighteen makes no difference. In fact, some sites take pride in drawing attention to this when they share "sexy" photos. The headline for this piece is "Suhana Khan is Kicking the Crap out of Puberty in this Red Bandage Dress"! Similar videos and photos of other celebrity children, especially girls, are circulated on the internet as a matter of routine. Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter, Navya Naveli, and Sridevi's daughter, Jhanvi Kapoor, have been favourite targets even when they were much younger than what they are now.

 

The comments beneath the videos from trolls are along the lines of how these girls bring "shame" and "dishonour" to their family name. Never mind that the trolls themselves harbour no honorable intentions! Neither does it seem to matter that these pictures of wardrobe malfunctions were taken without the subject's knowledge, and that they were oblivious of what was "on show" and what was not. If it gets this vicious for women so young, it isn't surprising that older female celebrities are not spared. 

 

Interest in wardrobe malfunctions isn't anything new, and even reputed websites have been guilty of posting such images (with some chaste blurring) to capture eyeballs. South Indian female actors too have fallen victim to the camera in an unguarded moment, and have had their pictures splashed online with sleazy captions - Priyamani, Trisha, Kajal Aggarwal, to name a few. 

 

But what is it about a wardrobe malfunction that gets people so excited? After all, it isn't as if these women are covered from head to foot all the time otherwise. The excitement comes from the fact that this is happening without their consent, that we're taking something away from a famous person without their knowledge. This gives voyeurs a sense of power, and it explains why people are obsessed with celebrity wardrobe malfunctions, even when there are countless pictures available, where they display their bodies with full consent. 

 

There's also a sense of sadistic pleasure at the fashion disaster - celebrities pay a lot of money to look the way they do, and it gives us some sort of weird satisfaction when things don't pan out the way they intended it to. Same reason why we like to look at pictures of nose jobs gone wrong.

 

Being in the limelight comes with a price, and the Internet is definitely not a kind place to be in. But surely, we should draw a line at just how low we go, at least when it comes to the kids? Or is it that entertainment and ethics never go hand in hand?