Bras, boyfriends, Bollywood: why I say boo to this site for modern Indian women

What would I look for in an online women’s magazine? Great travel places for those of us with gypsy feet, top tomes in fiction, enticing recipes and restaurants, gadgets that can help women be superwomen, and profiles of those who have shattered the glass ceiling – give or take a few pieces on fashion. And that is why POPxo gets my goat.

The Delhi-based website was launched in 2014 by two women with impeccable credentials – Priyanka Gill, a graduate of King’s College London, and Namrata Bostrom, a former Rhodes Scholar who studied at London Business School. Last month POPxo snapped up US$2 million in funding from top venture capital names IDG Ventures, Kalaari Capital, and 500 Startups.

Targeted at young Indian women, it claims to get over 2.5 million readers every month. “It’s about POP culture, it’s POPular, it’s fun, dynamic, and energetic – all that the modern Indian woman needs.” That’s the promise. But when I click open the website, I am on unexpected terrain.

Discontent with content

The stories on the home page go something like this: “9 signs you’re the most chilled out girlfriend ever”, “7 things his body language reveals (even if he doesn’t)”, “7 amazing bra secrets for girls with bigger boobs”. Phew, this is pop.

What after boobs, bra, and boyfriend? Bollywood, of course. Celebrities sell – so be it POPxo’s write-ups on weddings, or photo features on fitness, or relationship tips, actors and actresses are right up there.

I try another day, and here’s what I see: “Get hairless underarms…By microwaving them”. I swallow hard. I can think of a hundred critical things that Indian women need, but this!

Am I being a moralist or a feminist or some such thing? Indian women battle patriarchal prejudices every day. They get paid less than men at work in big cities like Bangalore, female foetuses get terminated in rich south Delhi neighbourhoods, female infants are killed hours after birth in Punjab and Haryana, girl children are looked upon as a burden as their parents have to pay fat dowries to marry them off, and women face horrifying sexual violence. The issues are endless.

Does the 18- to 30-year-old, who would be a college-goer or a young professional or a newly married housewife, not want to read about reality? I’m curious.

Brains and business behind beauty

POPxo has a clear line: It is about beauty, fashion, lifestyle, and relationships. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else. And it works.

Reality bites?