The Gold Digger Label: Unravelling Society's Obsession With Dissecting Radhika Merchant's Life

In 2024, despite the optimistic expectations we held in our hearts in the new year, the reality for us women seems to be distasteful. The scrutiny around Radhika Merchant's engagement with Anant Ambani says it all. Our society's gaze was quick to turn judgemental soon after pictures and videos from Radhika and Anant's three-day pre-wedding extravaganza from Jamnagar were made to our social feeds.

Comments like "She doesn't look happy at all", "she is marrying only for money", and "why would she marry anyone like Anant”, directed towards Radhika Merchant, serve as enough proof of our failure as a society. These remarks, attacking Radhika's character simply because she chose to marry the person she loves and spoke about the deep-rooted societal biases and attitudes.

Money And Not Love Conquers All?

It seems like little do we any longer believe in the timeless sentiment 'love conquers all', a belief that solely love is enough to overcome any challenges in life. It is unfortunate that today when two childhood friends like Radhika and Anant decide to take a step forward and tie the knot, it is labelled a transactional relationship since the couple fails to fit in the conventional standards of 'appearance'. Don't you think our POVs have somewhat turned murky, making us disregard the beauty of love?

Society’s Obsession With Labelling Women

"Oh, she is a 'gold digger', she is only marrying for financial gain, she is such a 'drama queen', why does she always exaggerate her emotions? she must be 'crazy' to react like that, she is just too 'clingy', she should not seek emotional support all the time," the labels just don't end.

The weight of these labels placed on us women in the country is overwhelming. To prevent ourselves from being subject to such labels, we often conform to the traditional gender roles and norms that eventually make us lose our autonomy and agency. Despite multiple efforts being put in to challenge these expectations over the years, they continue to persist at grassroot levels, further normalising and perpetuating discriminatory practices against women.

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Trolling That Knows No Bounds

While Radhika Merchant is being called names for her choosing to marry the love of her life, Anant Ambani on the other hand is being attacked brutally for his physical appearance. It is unfortunate that in a move to seek attention, derive satisfaction, and find amusement, many anonymous trolls on the internet have forgotten to be human.

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Celebrities are human too and just like everyone deserve respect. However, since they hardly get to lead a private life, netizens often forget their boundaries and mindlessly troll them under those anaonymous usernames.

The lack of empathy in the remarks towards Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant lately represents a diminishing sense of shame among internet users.Dr. Tanisha Shekhar, General Practitioner and Mental Health Activist,said,"People often look at celebrities and justify that because they have chosen to live a public life, every part of it can be scrutinised to shreds but at the end of the day they are also human and not immune to bullying."

"Hiding behind the anonymity of the internet, trolls find that they can get away with anything they say but the psychological impact it can have on someone, celebrity or not, can be devastating. Only when Netizens are made to realise the impact that their words can have on one, will they start to think before writing something hurtful about them," she added.

Dr Divya Shree K R, Consultant – Psychiatrist, Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore said, "There is a fine line between humour and cruelty . One needs to exercise a great deal of responsibility when we tread this line. Unfortunately, trolling falls in this gap. The repurcussions of this is akin to public crucifucation of a person's character. The explosion of social media has increased the prevalence of this issue again and again. The speed of information spread and anonymity of the offender acts like a double edged sword."

As we reflect on the stark reality of the state of women in India, it's quite evident that there is a dire need for introspection but before that a deeper dive into our consciousness to figure out why our moral values are eroding with each passing day.

Image Courtesy: Radhika.Merchant_