Posted:
I hated the way Akshay was putting Nikhil up to ideas about how he should be respected in the relationship. I hated it but it was really realistic.
I'm not a big fan of how Rhea treats Nikhil, but she has never been dishonest or inauthentic. She is who she is, with a very 'take it or leave it' attitude. And their relationship, however it is, works for them. But everyone else around them thinks that the relationship is doomed, because she does not respect him as the girl should traditionally do. And underlying the word 'respect' are a variety of layers: some good and some not so good. This is not only about people being polite to each other but also about power hierarchies being maintained. The onus is not just on Rhea but on both Rhea and Nikhil to be true to their gender identities, for him to take the lead and for her to follow, for him to decide and for her to agree.
This is not just about being unfair to both of them. This is also about the way in which their relationship unseats the status quo that they all comfortably accept in their relationships, and their discomfort is also from the fact that if something like this works out then it makes clear just how hierarchical all their own relationships are.
comment:
p_commentcount