Conventionally round and red, the bindi or pottu has been worn in various ways while adorning the foreheads of married Hindu females for centuries. Traditionally made from ground red turmeric or saffron and adorned between the eyes, technology has allowed pottu wearers to have more choice as they can now purchase the pottu in the form of a sticker. The pottu, in this contemporary period, has taken on cross-cultural value as an ornament and superseded its traditional purposes by being something worn by non-Hindus and individuals not of Indian descent from all around the world. Originating from the Hindu religion, the pottu is adorned between the between the eyes of a woman. The location between the eyes is said to be the residing place of the
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Much of a woman’s societal status within India, the location of the earliest practice of the pottu, is placed upon her marital status. Belonging first to her father and brother(s) and then to her husband after marriage, a woman is considered an object as she proceeds throughout her life, with the pottu an indicator of to whom she currently belongs. The use of the pottu to reiterate the patriarchal ideals within Indian society is not necessarily representative of the Hindu religion the pottu is associated with. Within a highly patriarchal society, there is a large demographic of Indians who believe females were beings created to be the weak point of men. Enforced by Hindu stories, such as the one about Brahma losing his fifth head and right to be worshipped after chasing his creation Shatarupa, and the use of the Apsaras (nymphic females) to rescue the world from various wars through lust and seduction, instead of violence, and carry out many of the Hindu gods’ biddings. As well as certain practices that could be considered restricting for females, such as the Hindu practice forbidding widows and menstruating females to wear the pottu during this period within their lives, as to not encourage the sexual desires of their male counter-parts (Kitchlu). However, there are many Hindu stories about females who were created to be …show more content…
The new form of the pottu was and is currently referred to as the “Sticker bindi” (Moore [23-4]). Made of thin fabric, jewels and rhinestones the sticker bindi changed a product that was integral in many South Asian and/or Hindu communities into something more convenient to a new demographic, the Western World. The pottu was adopted into pop culture and mass media by stars, such as Gwen Steffani, Madonna, Destiny’s Child, Naomi Campbell, and Selena Gomez, to make a stylistic statement as the Euro-centric parts of the world became more interested in the Eastern World (Bhuyian). The bindi is now a popular fashion statement emulated by a large demographic of people, who have no idea what any of the significance of the pottu is. The adaptation of the pottu into pop culture is often seen as disrespectful, with the alteration in the bindi’s significance from identity to style creating waves of protest from South Asian communities. Before and after Gwen Steffani wore the pottu, Hindu and Indian females in Euro Centric countries, like the United States, are criticized, ridiculed, and ostracized for wanting to wear a part of their cultural identity. Maya Murthy writes about her experience being a South Asian student, who does not wear a bindi as this practice sends out the message the she is “an immigrant...that can’t
Much of a woman’s societal status within India, the location of the earliest practice of the pottu, is placed upon her marital status. Belonging first to her father and brother(s) and then to her husband after marriage, a woman is considered an object as she proceeds throughout her life, with the pottu an indicator of to whom she currently belongs. The use of the pottu to reiterate the patriarchal ideals within Indian society is not necessarily representative of the Hindu religion the pottu is associated with. Within a highly patriarchal society, there is a large demographic of Indians who believe females were beings created to be the weak point of men. Enforced by Hindu stories, such as the one about Brahma losing his fifth head and right to be worshipped after chasing his creation Shatarupa, and the use of the Apsaras (nymphic females) to rescue the world from various wars through lust and seduction, instead of violence, and carry out many of the Hindu gods’ biddings. As well as certain practices that could be considered restricting for females, such as the Hindu practice forbidding widows and menstruating females to wear the pottu during this period within their lives, as to not encourage the sexual desires of their male counter-parts (Kitchlu). However, there are many Hindu stories about females who were created to be …show more content…
The new form of the pottu was and is currently referred to as the “Sticker bindi” (Moore [23-4]). Made of thin fabric, jewels and rhinestones the sticker bindi changed a product that was integral in many South Asian and/or Hindu communities into something more convenient to a new demographic, the Western World. The pottu was adopted into pop culture and mass media by stars, such as Gwen Steffani, Madonna, Destiny’s Child, Naomi Campbell, and Selena Gomez, to make a stylistic statement as the Euro-centric parts of the world became more interested in the Eastern World (Bhuyian). The bindi is now a popular fashion statement emulated by a large demographic of people, who have no idea what any of the significance of the pottu is. The adaptation of the pottu into pop culture is often seen as disrespectful, with the alteration in the bindi’s significance from identity to style creating waves of protest from South Asian communities. Before and after Gwen Steffani wore the pottu, Hindu and Indian females in Euro Centric countries, like the United States, are criticized, ridiculed, and ostracized for wanting to wear a part of their cultural identity. Maya Murthy writes about her experience being a South Asian student, who does not wear a bindi as this practice sends out the message the she is “an immigrant...that can’t