Thursday, September 07, 2006

BACK ON THE MARKET: Oh Crap (part III) or A Further Discussion About Appropriate Photos

Apparently, my photos aren't good enough to be circulated to random families of random eligible bachelors in a certain southern city and I'm pretty ticked off.

Remember back when my mom was on my back for rishta photos that she and my dad could send out across the country (http://revengeofthenerddd.blogspot.com/2006/08/back-on-market-oh-crap-part-ii.html)? I finally succumbed to the nagging and ended up emailing six of my Friendster (ahem) photos to my dad, who then passed them out to cousins everywhere. Well, a pair of my cousins informed my mother today that the photos might be a bit inappropriate. So, my mother gave me the when-embarking-on-the-wonderous-journey-of-pimping-a-daughter-one-should-only-share-"appropriate"-and-by-"appropriate"-I-mean-you-dressed-in-native-garb-photos-with-interested-families talk.

I am pissed because:

1) there's absolutely nothing wrong with the pics that my cousins have at the moment.
2) I've worn native garb like twice in the past nine months, which equates to like three pics on my computer, one of which was bloody well included in the six I emailed to my father.
3) I hardly ever wear native garb, so why the hell should I misrepresent myself to these effin' strangers I already dislike?
4) to hell with people who think they'll have me all figured out by looking at a photo of me.
5) what the hell has happend to my progressive and open-minded parents?
6) is it just me or are my cousins implying that I'm slutty? Because I'm not slutty at all. Paranoid, maybe, but I am a Pisces, after all......

My parents asked me to pull up the pics they shared with my cousins and I did. While they saw nothing wrong with the pics a couple of weeks ago, they were suddenly agreeing that we needed to send out pics of me in shalwaar kameez, that these pics were too "casual". So, I told them very calmly, "This really sucks. I don't think I want to do this anymore," and walked out of the room.

This comedy relief comes at too great a price (my peace of mind).

13 comments:

Mahera Rana said...

ahhhhhhhh - my sister and i are going through the same BS.

girl said...

Geez! Maybe you should put together a little wedding plan & break down costs for your parents. That might sticker shock back to their senses!

Anonymous said...

I've seen those Friendster pictures of yours and you seem to look pretty damn good in whatever you wear, native or otherwise. Stay true to what you are, they'll accept/adapt if they want to or else you'll find someone more compatible.

Anonymous said...

your pics are fine, your future hubby should know beforehand on how you dress, as not to expect you to wear shalwar khameez all day long

Terra Shield said...

It's who you are and not what you wear that should be their concern.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with terra shield... and that's why you should put up pictures of you in your birthday suit (stark nekkid). You can't go wrong in your attire if you wear none at all :P

mist1 said...

My mother taught me that the theme to my wardrobe is "slightly slutty."
Allow me to explain:

Slightly slutty: Wearing a midruff baring top, tiny shorts and four-inch heels in the frozen food section.

Slutty: All of the above, only without a bra.

Perhaps you can help your family see what slutty clothing looks like. Then they might object to the Friendster photos.

I gotta start charging for advice like this.

Anonymous said...

Your parents are stating a shalwaar kameez is formal wear? (vs "too casual?)
Hmmm - the desi mindset of wardrobe has always baffled me.

I'm curious, given so many desi families pimping daughters are looking to snag the >6 foot tall, fair skinned, Hyderabadi doctor from Ivy League school and good family - does the appearance in shalwaar kameez act as the lynchpin with which to snag said hunk-a-hunka doctor-saab?

Abstracting Silliness said...

sk: u gotta go find yourself a non-desi guy and elope with him... cos nothing says "stop bugging me!!" to parents like secretly getting married in las vegas. Trust me.. it works...

Anonymous said...

I refused to give my parents a picture of me to send around for rishtas. So they dug out a pic of me in native garb a few years ago at Eid, which is what they send around. And here i thought my parents where different than all other paki parents. Boy was I wrong.

SabilaK said...

Passion: Nope. I don't do the ISNA. Was this your first time there?

Arin said...

Sabila, perhaps this is the ideal we all hope for, a happy amalgam of parental contrivance and glorious serendipity (a.k.a. 'love'). Sadly, we're not all like these two: Link to NYT

Schizo's rainbow said...

Yea Screw em! Solidarity sister! If they cant accept a frigging snapshot then they might as well not know u!