It’s 2021. Times have definitely changed. I mean, we, as a country might have morally regressed ‘a bit’ but still, these are supposed to be progressive times. But apparently, Harsh Goenka missed the memo.
Yesterday, Goenka shared a ‘wife joke’ on Twitter. And yes, you are right. It’s exactly the kind of crap that uncles send in WhatsApp groups. You have heard of it. I have heard of it. We have both been disgusted by it but these guys just never learn.
See, the idea behind these jokes is to compare your partner, in this case, your wife, to an inanimate object, or anything that practically dehumanises them so that you can have a cheap laugh.
But it’s not funny. It wasn’t when the jokes were first written at the beginning of time and they aren’t funny now. It’s treating women like objects and effectively referring to them as sub-humans or people that aren’t human at all.
And that is one of the most disgusting and vile things that one can do. Mind you, Goenka isn’t a first time offender.
And he had been called out for it back then as well.
You are so sexist. Women are not gold diggers. Those men are not being divorced *for money*
— Vidya (@VidyaKrishnan) May 17, 2021
I know it’s a joke but an unfair one. It assumes women whose spouses get rich have their eyes more on alimony.
— Kartikeya Tanna (@KartikeyaTanna) May 17, 2021
But I guess, some things just never change. This time around, when Goenka was called out, he quickly responded with what I think he thought was funny but was really him just finding an excuse to use the N-word.
Our men don’t want women to have financial freedom or freedom of any kind but will make jokes about them wanting money. Personally, I am really struggling to understand the angle here.
So, I’ll just phrase it the way everyone can get behind. Wife jokes aren’t funny. Comparing your wife to an object isn’t funny. Saying that women only marry men for their money isn’t funny either. Implying that wife comes from wildlife is effectively comparing women to animals is just not right.
It’s morally repugnant and simply not acceptable, especially when the world has come so far in terms of gender equality and yet remains far away from truly achieving this utopia!
