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May 02, 2024

Locks and Mocks: Confronting the Shame of Facial Hair Blame - The sordid case of Prachi Nigam and Bombay Shaving Company advertisement!!!

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.

1 comment:

  1. In my opinion it's okay to have facial her and it's her rights whether to maintain or to remove. It is something naturally grown. It's not at all right to be trolled her. Body shaming can create someone to get into depression it can create lots of disruption to her career . she's topper leave her from such negativity. if possible help her in support, look at her talent not her appearance.

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