The newspaper with the largest English-language circulation in the world has published one of the worst articles about women ever.
The Times Of India, with a reported circulation of more than three million, posted "Weird, funny facts about women" to its website Monday, quickly prompting shock and outrage on Facebook and Twitter.
UPDATE: The Times Of India removed the story from its website after this article was published. The links in this story have been updated to a cached version.
It's not hard to see why.
The story (which stretches the definition of the term) presents some of the most tired and sexist cliches about women as unassailable facts.
Some lowlights.
"Women don't bathe everyday [sic]: Not all women bathe everyday [sic], no matter how much they profess cleanliness and hygiene. They rely on deodorants and perfumes to smell good."
"After sex women still love to be kissed: Men always feel tired and prefer to sleep after sex, but women don't. They like to talk, fool around, and kiss each other. For a great relationship, men should take note of this."
"Women don't like another woman to wear the same dress."
"Women can spend a whole day before the mirror."
"Women don't need sex as often as men do. Sex is more about emotions for women."
Reactions on Twitter have ranged from rage to bemusement.
"This is actually the stupidest thing I have ever read. I knew I could count on you, @timesofindia," wrote the Wall Street Journal's Margherita Stancati.
"The Times of India apparently learned everything they know about women from hacky 1970s stand-up routines," wrote @JeremysIron.
Others said the author is likely to claim the post was meant as a joke.
"That @timesofindia item is so outrageous that I suspect the author later will claim at it was supposed to be satire," wrote Reuters editor Robert MacMillan.
A quick look at "reporter" Biben Laikhuram's other posts suggests the piece was not written in jest. Other recent stories include "5 Sex positions women die to have,""5 Things that scare women about sex," and "6 Ways to get a stronger erection" (complete with an accompanying photo of a woman screaming in pain).
The story isn't doing much to improve India's reputation on women's rights. On the same day the women facts story appeared, the Times also published a story with the headline "Increasing crime against women sparks fear of chaos in volatile Hyderabad."
Recent stories about violent rapes in the country have led to new laws, but underlying cultural obstacles to equality remain.
Dear Biben Laikhuram,
You're not helping.
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