blogs sex and india
it's interesting to see that blogging is getting the sort of attention that i did not expect in india. i'm right now watching ndtv "the brave new world of blogs". it's probably a regular talk show, since the host looks very talk-show hosty. i think the name of the show is "we the people". come to think of it the episode might be about whether to regulate blogs in india.
what catches my attention is the fact that there's frank discussion by bloggers, ON TV, about homosexuality, sexuality, and many other topics generally taboo in indian "proper society" (whatever that means). i'm concerned for the bloggers to some degree, but am also very very proud that indian media is representing the borders. one thing to note is that homosexuality is illegal in india, per the constitution. obviously it's not enforced, but it's still interesting to see that people are willing to come forward and talk publicly about this.
an interesting thing that the host asked is whether this whole blogging this is just
most of the bloggers being talked to are young - probably late teens or early twenties at the very most. the gay guy, maybe around 20, says his parents know he's gay, but that he talks about a lot of things on his blog that he would not talk to his parents about. i suspect this is true of most bloggers. says something about blogging being cathartic, more than informative.
a question i've had for a while is whether bloggers are only the english speaking masses. the topic just turned to this, and the blogger being talked to has a blog named qarba (or garba maybe) in hindi. i could not find it doing a google search, so maybe i'll have to look again in a bit. the combination of english with hindi and other indian languages for the purpose of blogging is very cool.
the hindi blogger just said that the act of blogging is never personal. since it's in the public domain (and not in a license sense) it's by definition not private. i agree, but it's a dichotomy that needs to dealt with. due to the impersonal nature of the internet (and arguably also because of the one-directionality to some degree, ignoring comments for a sec) i suspect people are going to be more apt to port personal feelings and opinion (i know i do). but simultaneously i wonder if people ever consider just how much of their public posting might come back to bite them in the ass (question for will - have you ever had negative repercussions from blogging, aside from the whole vivo's incident?).
blogging is obviously a means to gain attention. and as the gay guy says:
what indeed :)
what catches my attention is the fact that there's frank discussion by bloggers, ON TV, about homosexuality, sexuality, and many other topics generally taboo in indian "proper society" (whatever that means). i'm concerned for the bloggers to some degree, but am also very very proud that indian media is representing the borders. one thing to note is that homosexuality is illegal in india, per the constitution. obviously it's not enforced, but it's still interesting to see that people are willing to come forward and talk publicly about this.
an interesting thing that the host asked is whether this whole blogging this is just
an angrezi, chic, gen-next thing to dostrange question, but i've asked the same of many of my guests - whether blogging and free-culture translate beyond the western world. here's the answer!
most of the bloggers being talked to are young - probably late teens or early twenties at the very most. the gay guy, maybe around 20, says his parents know he's gay, but that he talks about a lot of things on his blog that he would not talk to his parents about. i suspect this is true of most bloggers. says something about blogging being cathartic, more than informative.
a question i've had for a while is whether bloggers are only the english speaking masses. the topic just turned to this, and the blogger being talked to has a blog named qarba (or garba maybe) in hindi. i could not find it doing a google search, so maybe i'll have to look again in a bit. the combination of english with hindi and other indian languages for the purpose of blogging is very cool.
the hindi blogger just said that the act of blogging is never personal. since it's in the public domain (and not in a license sense) it's by definition not private. i agree, but it's a dichotomy that needs to dealt with. due to the impersonal nature of the internet (and arguably also because of the one-directionality to some degree, ignoring comments for a sec) i suspect people are going to be more apt to port personal feelings and opinion (i know i do). but simultaneously i wonder if people ever consider just how much of their public posting might come back to bite them in the ass (question for will - have you ever had negative repercussions from blogging, aside from the whole vivo's incident?).
blogging is obviously a means to gain attention. and as the gay guy says:
what's wrong with wanting to be famous?
what indeed :)
Powered by ScribeFire.
posted by sundar | 7:16 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home