The cleavage debate

On March 30, National Cleavage Day was trending on Twitter. Commodification! cried women. Valid reason to stare, said the men. Life! brings you a saucy 3-corner discussion.
Om March 30, a lingerie brand inducted 10 celebrities into the Cleavage Hall of Fame, with British beauty Holly Willoughby at number 1. A group of women strutted around London in almost nothing, celebrating National Cleavage Day, an event imagined by a global lingerie brand.Any chance that an Indian could have made it to the list? Starlet Poonam Pandey certainly thinks so. She wished twitterati, happy cleavage day, with a ‘woo hoo!’ Brand manager with the lingerie firm said, “It is a day for women to realise that their cleavage is something unique and that they should be proud of it.” We wonder how unique they can remain, and for how long, when it’s now household to walk into a surgeon’s clinic, point at a pick-your-cleavage chart, and blurt, “I’ll have that one, please.”
The Bollywood writer with a mind
Advaita Kala: It was started as a publicity stunt by a brassiere brand, and is a marketing gimmick to sell more bras. That’s it. I see it as crass commercialisation. Women hold far more within that’s worth celebrating than a cleavage. Maybe the brand should contribute to something that truly ‘lifts’ a woman’s position in society. They certainly have enough money and public relation spin gurus on their payroll.
The sexy number designer
Raakesh Aggarval: It’s my job to make the cleavage look sexy. Let’s admit it, it’s what makes a woman, desirable. This summer, I’ve worked on transparent corsets and sexy bras lined with sequins, in a bid to highlight a shapely cleavage. The trick is to play hide-and-seek rather than be in-your-face. Actresses Anushka Sharma, Malaika Arora Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez and Deepika Padukone top my list of women with a desirable cleavage. They know the art of accentuating it. My female clients in Delhi are super-confident, and love their plunging necklines.
The you-can-have anything plastic surgeon
Dr Tejinder Bhatti: It’s all around, so who do you blame? The media flashes images of women with perfect cleavages at readers. Designers are crafting outfits with low necklines that demand you sport perfect breasts. It’s become a vital component of the flawless woman’s body. Large, perky, well-rounded breasts are part of a larger Indian obsession. Which is why Mallika Sherawat is a hit with men. But of course, she’s had implants. Women as young as 20, and single, are opting for breast augmentation procedures, and the numbers are only growing. Any woman with a non-cleavage knows she can go out there and get herself the best cleavage in town.
Like with most events that make news, including the cricket World Cup, starlet Poonam Pandey used Cleavage Day as an opportunity to hog the limelight. ‘Woo hoo, how should I celebrate? I celebrate it every day,” she tweeted.