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Times of India article knocked for offensive women stereotypes

Canadian and U.S. media are having a field day knocking a Times of India lifestyle article published Monday that outlines a whole whack of questionable stereotypes and cliches about women.

The newspaper removed the story "Weird, funny facts about women" from their website on Wednesday due to backlash and tweeted the following explanation.

At a time when the country's reputation for women's rights is in dire need of repair, the article published in the largest English-language paper in the world, couldn't be more poorly timed. Never mind the fact that it also ran the same day the paper ran a news story with the headline: "Increasing crime against women sparks fear of chaos in volatile Hyderabad."

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Here are a few reasons journalists at the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post and Reuters are slamming the article. Read below for part of the article and click here to read it in full.

Women don't bathe everyday: Not all women bathe everyday, no matter how much they profess cleanliness and hygiene. They rely on deodorants and perfumes to smell good.

Women eat a hell lot: When men are around, women act like they eat too little. But when left alone she can polish off a full size pizza. Now, we know why women always talk about food and recipes.

Why women love TV serials/Soap operas so much: We know most of the TV serials look so stupid and funny but women still love them. Probably they just want to feel that there are people worse off than them. Now you should know why a Balika Vadhu kind of show is so famous.

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.

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The comments about the article have been mostly relegated to Twitter, with reactions ranging from disgust to bewilderment.

"Can someone explain how a major Indian newspaper let this 'funny' article about women happen?" writes the Journalism & Women Symposium.

"This is actually the stupidest thing I have ever read. I knew I could count on you, @timesofindia," writes the Wall Street Journal's Margherita Stancati.

"That @timesofindia item is so outrageous that I suspect the author later will claim at it was supposed to be satire," writes Reuters editor Robert MacMillan.

What are your thoughts about the article? Is it offensive or mostly just silly? Sound off in the comments below.