Look who’s taking umbrage to the latest ‘F’ word? The flower children of the ’90s who have an entire page dedicated to them and have spawned a species of their own! We are talking about the haute ‘socialites’ who seem averse to the coinage given to them.
Much ado? It seems they have developed an allergic reaction to the epithet, which is being treated as the new ‘F’ word! Says Devi Cherian, “The way these P3 bimbettes react when you call them ‘socialites’ is funny! What a ruckus! I can understand such a response from well-known personalities.”
Devi was alluding to acclaimed author Shobhaa De. A simple word that was once used by the high and mighty is evoking a strong response as now many object to its indiscrimi nate usage. A while back designer Manish Arora was visibly upset when he was called a ‘socialite’.
Designer Puja Nayyar, a familiar face at Page 3 dos, says, “It’s a frivolous sort of activity and that’s why celebs abhor being called that. People assume you are the sort who spends half a day in a salon!”
To be or not to be: Restaurateur AD Singh agrees with Puja. “For those who have achieved success in their field, it’s belittling to be called a socialite.” All the bad press they get as meaningless Page 3 people is taking a toll. Some, like former model Feroze Gujral and artist Laila Rajpal prefer to “reserve comments”.
{{/usCountry}}To be or not to be: Restaurateur AD Singh agrees with Puja. “For those who have achieved success in their field, it’s belittling to be called a socialite.” All the bad press they get as meaningless Page 3 people is taking a toll. Some, like former model Feroze Gujral and artist Laila Rajpal prefer to “reserve comments”.
{{/usCountry}}Simran Kanwar says, “It’s not flattering to be called so. You are perceived as a useless, media-hungry, party-hopper. We need to change the way we look at a socialite.”