What Does Being “Ladylike” Really Mean?

Brut India

Actress Srishti Shrivastava says she’s often told that she should be more “ladylike”. Here’s how she deals with it.  Special thanks to Yuvaa for the footage!

Transcript

00:00It's just weird for a woman to do it.

00:04Be ladylike.

00:05You're very open.

00:06You're very out there.

00:07Be ladylike.

00:08I've got that a lot, actually.

00:09That's one thing that always bothers me.

00:10It happens at home too.

00:11There are so many people.

00:12When I was interning in an ad agency and one of our bosses, she comes up to me and says,

00:25I was sitting and I was looking at something on the computer and something went wrong.

00:35So I laugh loudly.

00:36It's a bit weird for people.

00:37You can't laugh.

00:38It's just weird for a woman to do it.

00:41Anyway.

00:42So I was laughing really hard at something and she comes to me and she says, you've got

00:46to be a little ladylike.

00:47And I was very young at that point.

00:50I didn't understand what that meant and I spoke to my best friend, what does she mean

00:54by that?

00:55So she said, you know, maybe sit cross-legged, one foot on top of the other.

01:00Your voice should be calmer.

01:02You should sound feminine.

01:04But for me, being feminine does not mean being calm.

01:08For me, it's a completely different definition.

01:11That's what I feel like when people say, be ladylike.

01:14I've got that a lot, actually.

01:16Be ladylike.

01:17You're very open.

01:18You're very out there.

01:19And I don't have a problem with it.

01:22And I didn't change it.

01:23But that is one thing.

01:24Ladylike and be a certain way, just because people are watching you, that has troubled

01:28me a little.

01:29But I have crossed that boundary.

01:30Now I can fight.

01:31So I'm good.

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