
Girls and young women are often told to sit properly, dress properly, talk properly and so on. This has nothing to do with comfort, but is more about making women fit into the social definition of being graceful and lady-like.
But what if improper is more fun… more comfortable?
A new Whisper ad seeks to challenge the idea of a proper woman, especially how she should sit and behave when she is menstruating.
The video, done in collaboration with all women comedy group Girliyapa, features women in a variety of settings. There is a ballerina, a woman listening to music on the stairs, women who are reading, dancers and just women bursting crackers and having fun.
In all the sequences, these women look comfortable in how they are conducting themselves. They sit with their legs wide, against a wall, feet dangling from a staircase and more. These images are contrasted is the reprimanding voice many women will find familiar – someone telling them to have some shame and sit ‘properly’, unlike boys who can sit however they want.
Watch the video here:
First posted on September 9, the video has over 4 lakh views and over 1,000 shares.
“Society has always dictated how women should talk, behave, dress and sit properly. But improper is just more fun... more free... more liberating! Improper is just more comfortable,” reads the video description.
And being comfortable over proper, is just what the women seems to be doing.
The message found resonance with many women who tweeted their reactions with the hashtag ‘Sit Improper’
It's you who decides how to sit, talk, walk, what to eat & what to wear. Not SOCIETY! Live your life! #SITIMPROPER #Girliyapa #LoveYourself
— Khyati Gupta (@Khyati_gupta_99) September 6, 2017
Aunty please, let me focus on killing it! #SitImproper #IAmUnstoppable pic.twitter.com/rsqM67AxIs
— Girliyapa (@Girliyapa) September 12, 2017
https://t.co/6WBr1qgXCJ
— Jasmeet Kaur Khalsa (@JasmeetKhalsa14) September 10, 2017
I will not let anyone tell me how to sit. Hey you ,You're perfect!
Thankyou Whisper :)#iAmunstoppale #Sitimproper pic.twitter.com/CN4F015RS4
This is for every single time I was asked NOT to do something ONLY because I am a GIRL #iamunstoppable #sitimproper #whisperultrasoft https://t.co/2gNFOeih97
— Sarjita (@Sarjita) September 9, 2017
Joining the #SitImproper movement because I'm just tired of hearing 'Theek Se Baitho' & 'aise… https://t.co/mUcMV13VmN
— Shaurya Sanadhya (@ShauryaSanadhya) September 15, 2017
For Society its Improper but with my angle its I M PROPER #SITIMProper #IAMUnstoppable pic.twitter.com/hWA9HJcahZ
— Ragini Kshatriya (@AGiNIII) September 16, 2017
Improper is better since it liberates the soul
— Shanu (@shinewithshanu) September 12, 2017
Society makes rules, we break them!#sitimproper… https://t.co/nbqdNMHF8i