Wake up: Indian women aren’t in search of Western approval

The West’s discovery of Indian beauty reflects colonial attitudes

- KARISHMA VASWANI

There’s been a curious phenomenon on my social media feeds over the last few weeks: The internet has suddenly discovered Indian women, and decided that we are... ‘hot.’

The so-called rise of the Indian ‘baddie’ (Gen-Z slang for a woman who is attractive and stylish) has been fuelled by widely shared clips on TikTok and Instagram of young South Asian women dancing and singing along at pop star Tyla’s recent concert in Mumbai. This coincided with the first time an Indian model—25-year-old Bhavitha Mandava from Hyderabad—opened a Chanel show, a moment Western commentators hailed as a breakthrough for the world’s most populous nation.

But for many women, both in India and in the Indian diaspora (like myself), the tone has felt less celebratory and more patronizing. The implication seems to be that our allure only counts now because it’s finally been validated by international fashion houses or global pop culture.