Through my growing up years, I had no exposure to feminist thought or literature. The closest that I came across ‘women issues’ was through magazines like Femina, Women’s Era and, in later years, Savvy, that my mother subscribed to from time to time. They fired up women’s aspirations alright, but in the realm of appearance, not imagination. Worse, they not only reinforced the concept of ‘male gaze’, they trained the women to look at themselves the way their men saw them. Safe to say, not much evolution of thought happened here.
Despite this absence of exposure, one idea became integral to my being the moment I stepped into adolescence—financial independence. It was not that I was short of money--in fact, my father gifted me a dependent’s credit card when I turned 13—but I was conscious of the burden of accountability that came with spending someone’s else money. In addition to accountability for one’s indulgences, there was also a need to win approval for one’s choices. Because, after all, it was not your own money!