Selena Gomez pulled a bit of a 90s No Doubt era Gwen Stefani when she wore a bindi at her MTV Movie Awards performance but in the eyes of some Hindus, what she (and Stefani before her) did was culturally insensitive. Rajan Zed, an official at the Universal Society of Hinduism released a statement.
From WENN via ONTD:
“The bindi on the forehead is an ancient tradition in Hinduism and has religious significance. It is also sometimes referred to as the third eye and the flame, and it is an auspicious religious and spiritual symbol … It is not meant to be thrown around loosely for seductive effects or as a fashion accessory aiming at mercantile greed. Selena should apologize and then she should get acquainted with the basics of world religions.”
Ms. Gomez wore the bindi while performing her new single, “Come And Get it.”
This reminds me a little bit of when Katy Perry called out Lady Gaga for using religious symbolism in her music videos. Remember that whole Twitter explosion? That was already 2 years ago. lol my life
As of now, Ms. Gomez hasn’t released any sort of apology statement or even referred to it. Maybe she’s running away from it the same as she ran away from Jennifer Aniston. Oh, burn!
Do you think she should apologize?
freedom bitches!!! people need to stop making everything offensive. i bet there are some super happy indu girls right now
I am Indian, and was born in a Hindu family. Let me tell you first hand, bindi might have had religious, spiritual, whatever significance, but it’s a fashion accessory now. Yes even in India, even among Hindus (and Indians belonging to other religions).
agreed, I am Indian. It is not so much religious as cultural and part of fashion. It is weird and annoying when pop singers appropriate it though. I gather with Gwen Stefani, she started wearing them while dating an Indian, Tony Kanal or whatever his name was. Why does that make you want to wear a bindi? It’s sort of like that Jerry Seinfeld ” I’m not offended as a Jew; I’m offended as a comedian” thing.
Is it insensitive to eat with chopsticks, too?
She wasn’t mocking Indian people. She was wearing it because her stylist thought it would look nice. Why would ANYONE be hurt or upset over that? Unless she was jumping around screaming “TANK YOU COME AGAIN!” people should shut the hell up.
well, if you’re eating Chinese, Japanese, or vietnamese food with chopsticks, no. When you’re just eating thai food or burgers and donuts with them, it’s a bit weird. why would any stylist thinking putting a dot on your head “would look nice”.
IN THE 90’S NOONE BATTED A LID WHEN GWEN STEFANI PARADED HER BINDI ANYWHERE. BUT WAIT, POLITICAL CORECTNESS WAS WEAKER THEN, NOW IT RULES OVER US
people had all kinds of things to say about gwen stefani wearing a bindi. maybe you just didn’t notice
See, this just pisses me off. You can’t wear Indian headdress, you can’t wear Bindi’s, you can’t dress someone up in African traditional dress because it’s F!CKING OFFENSIVE
There’s offensive, and there’s fashion. Almost all of these incidents are for fashion, and all these people should just back off because all they’re after is 5 minutes in the spotlight.
If this continues Halloween will be renamed Insensitivity Day.
again, national dress is not a Halloween costume so you’re kind of making the point.
for a moment try and imagine how taking something culturally significant for another group and wearing it like a costume or for “fashion” might be really annoying to “these people”
just because you’re not offended doesn’t mean other people don’t have the right to be – i think it all boils down to thinking before you put something on like that, use your brain
Whether or not it makes her re-think the choice, she should stay out of it…because I’m sure her fans are already running around setting people on fire for speaking out against her. Like NIN before her, I think Selena might be slightly terrified of her fans.
I wonder if I went out in a sombrero and started singing about the Mother Mary while picking lettuce would Selena think it was offensive? Her grinding on a stage wailing while wearing a Bindi is not a special occasion, religious or otherwise. She’s offensive and needs to read more.
Myths and Significance
The vermilion, traditionally used exclusively for bindis, is called ‘sindura’ or ‘sindoor’. It means ‘red’, and represents Shakti (strength).
‘Sindoor’ and ‘kumkum’ are of special significance on special occasions. The practice of using ‘kumkum’ on foreheads is mentioned in many ancient texts (Puranas), including Lalitha Sahasranamam and Soundarya Lahhari.
Our religious texts, scriptures, myths and epics too mention the significance of ‘kumkum’.
katy has pictures of herself topless and wearing a crucifix necklace. shes a hypocrite.