Gurmit Singh's daughter slams fashion brand Forever 21 for this 'disgusting' thing...
Not many young girls her age would speak up and address an issue about objectifying women.
But Gurmit Singh's daughter Gabrielle, 17, did - penning an open letter after a bad experience at fashion brand Forever 21's store.
The outlet within 313@Somerset shopping mall in central Singapore was blasting rap music when she stepped in.
The music was "misogynistic", the teen said, as the lyrics were derogatory to women.
She wrote in her post:
"I don’t mind rap. What I did mind was the lyrics, which declared “half you b*****s like p**** too”. Yes, I know, rap is a genre that typically tackles anti-social issues; drugs, sex, violence, bring it on, am I right?
"I brushed this off because maybe you guys were playing a Billboard Top 100 mix, or somebody’s 8 tracks, and this was some sort of anomaly. I continued looking through your merchandise, slightly uncomfortable, but okay. I figured once the song changed, everything would be fine.
"I hate to tell you that everything was not fine. The songs got progressively more derogative: more condoning of abuse towards women, more explicit in descriptions of sexual endeavours… more disgusting, if I can put it flatly."
The Singaporean actor also posted his daughter's open letter on his Facebook page.
He later took it down on Wednesday (Oct 15) night, leaving this message:
Screengrab from Gurmit Singh's Facebook page. PHOTO: Facebook
Gurmit said he had contacted the store manager but thanked his Facebook friends for their opinions and sharing their sentiments.
His daughter's open letter set tongues wagging on social media. She wrote another post, saying:
"I didn’t expect this to garner as much response as it has, but… it has. People have been asking me why I didn’t just take it up with the store. I did!
"But at the end of the day, the issue can be summed up in two points: 1) Management needs to be serious about its brand image, which includes the music its stores play.
2) Telling young girls through loud, clear lyrics that they’re nothing but objects of men’s desire is derogatory and damaging.
"I don’t frequently use the term, but some people would call this a perpetuation of “rape culture”, and in this situation, I’d agree."
Sources: Facebook and just-selah.tumblr.com
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now