Virtual media like cinema have been playing an essential role in reflecting the society’s economic, political and social realities. They have been serving as a powerful tool in creating awareness among the masses. Even before the introduction of media in the world, the history of many tribes and diverse communities has survived in the form of stories and legends, narrated and passed down from generation to generation in the form of songs, ballads etc. These continue in the form of songs in Indian cinema which entertained people for ages. Who doesn’t love music? From the younger generation to the old generation, everyone loves listening to music, and the visual aid (music videos) makes the experience even more entertaining.
With the ongoing debate among the media experts and feminist scholars against the prevailing sexism in Bollywood, many articles criticise the content of songs and the artists especially Yo Yo Honey Singh, for romanticising stalking, eve-teasing, objectification of women, body shaming and presenting it as something acceptable in society.
The primary concern which arises here is about the effect that it has on the public because media, especially cinema, works as a mirror of society. This essay will try to analyze the contents of some famous Bollywood songs such as, ‘Hans Mat Pagli Pyar Ho Jaega’ (Toilet-Ek Prem Katha,2017), ‘Tu Mere Agal Bagal Hai’ (Phata Poster Nikla Hero, 2013), ‘Gandi Baat’ (R. Rajkumar,2013).
It will try to trace and understand the elements of masculinity as perpetuated through social gender norms, by engaging with the ongoing feminist debates around masculinity and its portrayal in media by using Bollywood songs as a tool to understand the popularity of such songs among people.
Investigation of visual media is not new to Academia. Feminist scholars had already started the critical analysis of the representation of women in media in the early 1970s. According to Smelik, the main argument of the Feminist Film Theory is that film actively constructs the difference of sexual differences and sexuality. She also points out that Mulvey’s analysis of Visual narratives shows how voyeurism and narcissism both are gendered, and both are related to the controlling power of the male character and the objectified representation of women in visual media.
What Is Masculinity?
Masculinity, in itself, is a broad topic which has been debated upon by many feminist scholars. This section will discuss the concept of hegemonic masculinity, which has been widely accepted by many feminist scholars while analysing the field of mass media. According to Connell and Messerschmidt, ‘Masculinity is not a fixed entity embedded in the body or personality traits of individuals. Masculinities are configurations of practice that are accomplished in social action and, therefore, can differ according to the gender relations in a particular social setting’.
According to Kamla Bhasin, one is not born a man or a woman; patriarchy transforms the male and female sex into man and woman gender, and that masculinity and femininity are mirror images of each other. As defined, men who don’t cry, do not show emotions publicly, treat women as their property, are dominant in the relationship, show physical and verbal aggression towards other men either individually or in a group are the ‘real men’ which can be understood according to the concept of hegemonic masculinity.
Hegemonic masculinity as a concept was formulated by an Australian Sociologist Raewyn Connell in 1987 referring to those traits of “real men” which are similar in many cultures all over the world (Kareithi, 2014). The concept has been used to study the aggressive masculinity in the music videos, advertisements and Hollywood films by Kareithi (2014) who argues that music videos’ stresses on gender difference, implicitly and explicitly reaffirms the “natural” dissimilarities of males and females. Hegemonic Masculinity has itself attracted much criticism for inconsistency in the application of the concept, referring to the fixed type of masculinity or whatever type is dominant at a particular time and place. Connell and Messerschmidt argue that these models expose the widespread desires, fantasies and ideals and articulate loosely with the practical constitution of masculinities as ways of living in everyday local circumstances.
Masculinity and femininity play an important role in the structurization of patriarchy, and those who do not follow these concepts are considered to be an embarrassment within the family and society. For example, a project which involved formative work on gender, sexuality and masculinity, and conducted educational activities with 126 young men aged 18–29, presented a report. In the project that extended over a six-month period, the programme of events was called Yari-Dosti, which is Hindi for friendship or bonding among men, and it was adapted from a Brazilian invention. The report cites an example from their findings on normative concepts of masculinity:
‘‘. . .during one of the festivals, all the boys were sitting together and had their bottle with them. They tried to force me to drink, but I refused. So all the boys began teasing me: ‘‘You are a ‘gud’ (feminine boy). This put me off. I drank four glasses of raw liquor. It was so strong that I was unconscious for days.’’
This example shows that people seek social legitimacy, and for that, they can go to any length.
The World Development report of 2015, “Mind, Society and Behavior” dedicated its report to understanding the functioning of society and how one’s environment affects their thinking and behaviour. It states, “Humans are hard-wired to develop and adhere to norms; imitation is one of the key ways humans learn strategies for interacting in the world and young children quickly learn the “social rules of the game”, following the norms and punishing violators. The human propensity to develop norms is so strong that norms emerge for almost every behaviour: there are norms for littering, dating, smoking, singing, when to sit, when to show anger, when, how and with whom to express affection, when to talk, when to listen, when to discuss personal matters, when to use contractions.”(p.51). Taking this explanation into account, it can be argued that one is not born bearing traits like masculinity. Children observe from their environment in which they grow up, that is, from their family members, community and educational institutions in their formative years and adopt these traits from these spaces.
It has been argued and observed by the people working in the field of sexual health and gender that a lack of sex education misdirects masculinity which is characterized by male sexual dominance and unequal gender attitudes and behaviour. As a result, men seek to prove their manhood through sexual prowess. Harmful notions of masculinity and male aggression are not only prevalent but often accepted and normalized in relation to violence against women.
In a study conducted on “Young males’ perpetration of violence against females” in urban neighborhoods of Mumbai, it has been found that “More than eight out of 10 boys reported that they had been the victims of violence, which ranged from verbal to physical abuse and also in some instances sexual violence at home, community, or in school. The younger boys in the cohort (less than 12 years old) reported experiencing more violence against them than older youth. The reports of violence victimization did not differ significantly by socio-economic status.” This data reveals that gender inequitable attitudes overall were highly correlated with attitudes condoning violence against girls. Talking about the attitudes of the young boys towards the violence, the report states that, “The gender attitude scale was highly associated with attitudes related to condoning violence against girls. One-third (35%) of the boys with the most equitable gender attitudes (i.e. in the highest tertile of gender-equitable attitudes) were least likely to condone violence against girls”.
“Mardangi” In Bollywood Songs
With the ongoing debate within the feminist scholarship on understanding masculinity in different cultures and historical spaces, media has also become a popular site of scrutiny for feminist scholars. Especially Bollywood films have come under the radar. Many studies have been conducted on Bollywood films for tracing the elements of embedded patriarchy, sexism, the portrayal of women, sexual harassment, and stereotyping gender roles. Essentially the “gaze” of media is masculine, and if we look from the feminist point of view, the relation between gazed and gazer was never established on equal terms. The ‘Gazer’ is more demanding, selfish and wants the ‘Gazed’ to act according to his expectations.
Laura Mulvey analyzed the cinema psychoanalytically and argues that women in a patriarchal setup are expected not to have any desires and are only seen as a signifier for the male. Often, women are bound by the symbolic order in which a man can live out his fantasies and obsessions through linguistic command by imposing on them the silent image of woman still tied to her place as a bearer of meaning, not a maker of meaning.
This argument can be stated valid for the presentation of songs in Bollywood. Recent studies suggest that women are seen as an object in the movies, especially in the song videos (Kareithi 2014, Mulvey) and because according to Tuchman media reflects the dominant values of the society, so it also becomes important for us to look at the media as a tool in socializing the generations to come. Bollywood, for a fact, is famous for its songs, and for a long period of time these songs have given us a way to express our feelings on various occasions. It should be noted here that due to this reason as well due to good music composition, some songs are celebrated despite containing (which many times generalizes) many serious crimes such as stalking and eve teasing (as I will be focusing on these two aspects).
Eve Teasing:
It refers to sexual assault or sexual harassment of women by making vulgar gestures, sexual remarks, winking, whistling, staring, touching her inappropriately, groping etc. Section 294 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) Obscene Acts and Songs, intends to promote decency and morality. It punishes if one is proven to be doing any obscene act or singing, reciting or uttering any obscene song, ballad or words.
Stalking:
It refers to following or contacting the victim in person or monitoring her by electronic means despite indication of disinterest shown by her. It is punishable by law under Section 354-D.
The analysis of the songs has been done by deciphering the meaning behind the lyrics and the video content of the song and analyzing it for the trace of above-mentioned categories. The selection of the songs has been done on the basis of their popularity and from the articles on social media platforms criticizing the sexist nature of Bollywood songs.
Song 1: “Tu Mere Agal Bagal Hai” (Phata Poster Nikla Hero, 2013)
“Haan Tujhpe Right Mera
Tu Hai Delight Mera
Tera Rasta Jo Rokoon
Chaunkne Ka Nahin”
The lyrics mean that if a man has fallen in love with a woman, he has a right over her. She is his desire and if he tries to stop her way, she shouldn’t be shocked. The concept of owning women as their property even without consent can be seen in these lines.
“Saccha Aashiq Hoon
Mujhe Thokne Ka Nahin Dhichkiyaon
Tere Doggy Ko Mujhpe Bhaunkne Ka Nahin”
Here, the man is justifying his actions by arguing that he is a true lover and that she shouldn’t get angry at him. Interestingly, the dog can be seen as the protector of the woman. The interesting part in the video of the song is that everyone becomes a mere spectator or indulges in the act while Vishwas (Shahid Kapoor) continues his vulgar dance and his justification of being a true lover. The song contains stalking, whistling, winking, even a threat has been made that if Kajal (Ileana D’Cruz) doesn’t call back on the missed call, he will commit suicide. If we look at the records of 2013’s top songs, it ranked 7th position in the Radio Mirchi top 20 songs.
Song 2: “Gandi Baat” (R. Rajkumar, 2013)
“Beedi peeke nukkad pe wait tera kia re
Khali peeli 18 cup chai bhi to pia re
Raja beta banke maine jab sharafat dikhai
Tune bola hatt mawali bhaw nahi dia re,
ABCD padhli bahut
Achi baatein karli bahut,
Thandi aahein bhar li bahut
Ab karunga tere saath
Gandi baat.”
It can be inferred from the song that a woman’s consent doesn’t matter. If she has rejected the man, he will let it out on her, but by what means, it is not clear in the song as it cannot be analysed what ‘Gandi Baat’ implies. The song is a perfect example of aggressive masculinity. The song made it to the top 20 songs bagging the 20th rank (Radio Mirchi top 20 songs, 2013).
Song 3: “Hans mat Pagli Pyar Ho Jaega” (Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, 2016)
The video of the song depicts stalking. In the song, the hero follows the female protagonist
There are many other songs such as Fevicol Se (Dabangg 2), Aashiq surrender (Badri ki Dulhaniya), Dilliwali Girlfriend (Ye Jawani Hai Deewai), songs by the artist Honey Singh and just to name a few, Blue Eyes, Amplifier etc. which not only portray women as objects but also romanticise sexual assault and harassment, which gives the impression and provides a message that it is acceptable in the society because it has been portrayed like this in the songs. On the contrary, such actions are punishable by law if not given substantial justification.
Mulvey has tried to explain Freud’s understanding of scopophilia and argues that Freud associates scopophilia with taking other people as objects, subjecting them to a controlling and curious gaze. She concludes that due to this, perverts and voyeurs are formed whose sexual satisfaction comes from objectifying others, as can be seen in the video of ‘Gandi Baat’, where the male protagonist imagines the female protagonist as an object of sensuality. As also pointed out by Lacan, it can be argued, that cinema creates a fascination for the viewers where they relate to the character or the situation. There the person’s ego is getting suppressed because they are relating to what they see but simultaneously, it also enforces the ego because they want to apply it in their lives.
Both these arguments imply that these stereotypes set up by the society on women and men lead to such fascination in the minds of people which is thus represented in media through item songs such as Fevicol Se, Chikni Chameli, Sheila Ki Jawani etc. where women are portrayed as an object of sensuality. And songs like Gandi Baat, Tu Mere Agal Bagal, Hans Mat Pagli, portray that no matter what women feel, men have the right to harass them, and as discussed above, this aggression and persuasion, which defines the hegemonic masculinity, makes them the “real man”.
In conclusion, it can be argued that the investigation of mass media from a feminist perspective is necessary to develop a better understanding of gender inequality sustaining in society. Mardangi (Masculinity) portrayed in media is linked to power, dominance and control. Children start observing their environment from their formative years. As Connell explained in his “Sex Role” theory, the way expectations about proper masculine behaviour are conveyed to boys as they grow up, by parents, schools, mass media and peer groups is important to be looked at and needs a critical investigation by the researchers working in these fields.
This area needs a deep psychoanalytical analysis of songs affecting the perception of youth in contemporary times through interviews and data collection from family and also the school as an institution, both of which help to further the concept of masculinity in the society. It is also important to look at the perception of women towards these songs because men alone are not the consumers of such songs.
It also raises an important question on what encourages the production of such songs. One can assume that the demand for such songs are prevalent in the public, which raises an important issue of concern, which World Development Report of 2015 has already mentioned, of how the human mindset is affected by what kind of environment they exist in.
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