It
is customary for every state board to announce its 10th and 12th school exam
toppers. All the state boards do it and most of the time these go under the
radar. But this time the announcement from the UP-state board caught the
attention.
The
10th topper Ms. Prachi Nigam who scored 98.5% garnered unwanted
attention due to her facial hair. Hirsutism is excess hair growth on the body
or face. It's caused by excess hormones called androgens. For women, the hair
may grow in places where men often have a lot of hair, but women often don't.
This includes the upper lip, chin, chest, and back.
Most
of us looked at the announcement and ignored it. But the social media netizens
did not spare Prachi. They heavily trolled her. The body shaming came as a huge
shock as we should appreciate Prachi’s intelligence and not make fun of her
body hair.
It
was reported that even though Prach was hurt, she was determined to achieve her
goals in life despite what people say about her appearance.
When
things were settling down an advertisement appeared in the English newspapers.
It was Bombay Shaving Company. This advertisement came under heavy criticism
for its “insensitivity”.
Shantanu
Deshpande, founder and CEO of the grooming brand, shared a picture of the
newspaper ad that read, “Dear Prachi, they are trolling your hair today,
they’ll applaud your A.I.R. tomorrow.”. At the bottom of the advertisement was
the sucker punch “ We hope that you never get bullied into using our razor”
Sharing
the picture, Deshpande wrote on his X (Twitter) account, “It was shocking to
see the amount of hate targeted at a teenage girl who had TOPPED AN EXAM
because of her facial hair. Our simple message to this amazing young woman with
such a bright future. Love to see my team ooze class. No opportunistic sale, QR
code, nothing. Just a heartfelt message to a fellow Bae.”
Shantanu
Deshpande thought he and his company were being considerate. They thought they
were supporting Prachi for her achievement. Bombay shaving company was just
being opportunistic. They wanted to cash into the hype and the buzz surrounding
Ms. Prachi Nigam.
“No opportunistic sale, QR code, nothing”. But the ad is what it is. Exploitative. They take a full-page advertisement at a heavy cost in all the English newspapers and then say it is not opportunism. Also, they include a snide comment at the bottom about the “usage of the Razor”.
If Bombay Shaving Company wanted to help Prachi, they could have arranged for a scholarship and helped her overcome her medical condition. But no, they took the easy way out. The easy way was to be clever and release an advertisement in extremely bad taste. Not done, Bombay Shaving Company.
Keywords: state board, 10th and 12th school exam
toppers, UP state board, Prachi Nigam, facial hair, hirsutism, body shaming,
social media, trolling, determination, advertisement, Bombay Shaving Company,
insensitivity, Shantanu Deshpande, CEO, grooming brand, Twitter, hate,
achievement, opportunistic, cash in, hype, buzz, full-page advertisement,
exploitation, scholarship, medical condition, bad taste.
