Is 'Feminism' Giving Freedom… Or Taking It Away? || Acharya Prashant (2026)

Is 'Feminism' Giving Freedom… Or Taking It Away? || Acharya Prashant (2026)

Author Name:Shakti

Youtube Channel Url:https://www.youtube.com/@AP_Shakti_English

Youtube Video URL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvP3AAsJFAw



Transcript:
(00:02) I just wanted to share a personal observation Acharya ji. I moved from India to the US in my early 20s because I used to think India is very patriarchal and I didn't feel safe in Delhi specifically. But after moving here, I was surprised at the level of objectification and body consciousness that women seem to experience.
(00:28) The beauty and cosmetic spa industry is huge. Procedures like Botox, lip fillers, rhinoplasty, they're quite common and women get it even in their mid-20s when they're young. I saw like procedures like butt lifts, they're very normalized, eyelashes, manicured nails. Women from middle-class backgrounds get it and it's very common.
(00:56) So, my question was if these societies are considered progressive, why is there such a strong emphasis on physical appearance, beauty, and fashion? And are these choices truly expressions of empowerment or is this internalized misogyny do you think? This is internalized misogyny. No doubt about that. The traditional male gaze has been soaked in.
(01:22) The woman is looking at herself as the man would look at her and calls it freedom. Says this is my body, my choice and my own gaze. You are looking at yourself exactly as the male looks at you. In fact, women look at other women just as men look at women. It's got into that point. When you ask them though, they'll tell you oh makeup makes me feel more confident and what's wrong with getting a nose job or getting your jaw fixed.
(02:09) They see it as empowerment. They see it as something that enhances their beauty. And that's how they see it. They don't really see it as >> thing is to ask where did they get this idea from? Is this original? Is this innate? Did they have this concept as a little girl? At some point they absorbed it from the patriarchal system.
(02:36) And because they were not alert, sufficiently attentive at that time, in that moment, so they didn't realize that something alien has entered them. That alien thought is then nurtured as one's own. Not only is it nurtured, it is developed into an identity. This is who I am. But this is what I like. What if this makes me feel more confident? Hm? Does does any other species do that? Does that happen? Do other societies do that? Had you not been exposed to the kind of influences you had, would
(03:22) you still do all this Botox and butt lift and all that? Do you still do that? And the common answer is I'm doing it for myself. It's not that I'm displaying it or I'm seeking attention. It's all for myself. Really? Really? And then and you know that that's a thing of inner honesty. So, that's where all external inquiry stops.
(03:52) Now, you cannot assert as an external inquirer or helper or friend that dear lady these are not your thoughts. Dear lady, this is not your belief. Not your confidence. This is the concept of confidence that you have imbibed from exactly the ones who have been your historical oppressors. And there is just so much data.
(04:20) I mean, the the observations you're quoting must be backed by numbers and there are numbers available in other societies as well, which clearly tell us that the more feminist a society is the mental condition of women somehow seems to worsen. There are data points available for that. Um Similarly I don't know which particular country or area of the world that is somewhere.
(05:03) Very feminist at the top of the charts in all gender empowerment and gender equality indices um but the enrollment of women in STEM courses have kept dropping and dropping even compared to the more conservative societies. As women are gaining freedom they are actually doing more of what men want them to do. But now they are doing it as if it is their own choice.
(05:44) In some very conservative societies in top universities, the proportion of women enrolled in professional courses is as high as 40-50%. But when it comes to the most liberated of societies, the proportion keeps dropping and dropping and has dropped down in some cases to 20-25% and women are dropping out claiming that it's their own free will and choice as a female.
(06:14) I don't want to read, I don't want to study. Why are all the men trying to make me enroll in a university? As a woman, it is my choice to stay at home and raise babies. And that's happening not in Arabia or Iran or or South Asia or some place in Africa. That is happening in some of the most liberated and feminist societies.
(06:42) So, feminism is not really bringing real liberation. Just download the Acharya Prashant app and there you go to the community section. And you have live testimonials streaming [music] in at the rate of one every five minutes. I'm seeing lives change [music] in thousands, if not millions, every day in front of my own eyes.
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