The sexism on our screens has increased by a greater extent as the days pass by. Our society seems to be headed backwards instead of forward when it comes to the topic of gender. We may have reached the moon and even Mars, but our thinking has gone down to the ancient eras. Now this is not an extreme statement. I have enough instances to prove this.
Let us start with simple ones, for example the daily TV soaps. Unarguably, it is a really big industry in every language and you have a huge audience for each show on every channel. But except a couple of shows out of hundreds, there is basically no plot to the serials. It is simply that there is a female lead, who can be perfect in beauty as well as in sanskaari standards set by the society, but she can never ever be happy.
She can be progressive, bold and beautiful and an all-rounder, but she cannot be brave enough to think of her happiness over others. And of course, where there is an unnaturally good and genuine woman, there has to be an extremely cruel and evil-minded lady as villain. And this pattern does not change for any of the shows you watch. Despite heavy criticism, people still watch, enjoy and celebrate these TV shows.
People may look very powerful and aware while criticising advertisements, but what about the ads that are getting played every day on your television sets? Did you ever think about the Bournvita and other beverages ads? Why is it always moms who are taking care of the child? Why aren’t both the parents equally responsible in the development of a child?
Moreover, if you see the gender ratio in the ads related to financial services, they are all dominated by males. I don’t want to spoil the Creds advertisements for having very innovative and entertaining content, but again more than 80% of the celebrities cast in the ads are males. So why aren’t you being outraged by the poor representation of women in all these scenarios instead of commenting on Alia Bhatt’s anti-kanyadaan ad?
The Sabyasachi’s ad was so powerful and different from all the traditional jewellery ads. What was commented upon was the skin showing models used in the shoots. But what actually was being ignored was the men in the ads wearing jewellery to show their love for their partners. The mangalsutra ad not only showed dark skinned, curvaceous women, unlike the fair, zero figure models; but it also had topless male models wearing mangalsutra.
Now that is something I would like to see more often because believe me or not, but Indian history is full of examples of men wearing jewellery from head to toe and flaunting it. So you really need to think about the real reason why the ads are being targeted. Is it because of the skin show or is it because of our orthodox, narrow minds which are not able to accept the changes happening in the society.
The representation of gay culture in the advertisement is also very questionable, which again was reported in a different manner after the recent Dabur Fem Karwa Chauth ad. Yes I agree, that we have grown up with a lot of fantasies. We have been conditioned to think that fasting for one’s partner is a symbol of love etc. And such rituals have been developed to maintain kinships. So it is obvious for same sex couples to enjoy display or expression of love in the traditional manners.
But the question remains that do we need to stick to the glorified concepts or develop our own ways of expressing love for our partners? Is it that we want to be included and so we want to be a part of such customs without knowing the misogyny that it upholds, or we really think that it is a perfect way of asserting the love and relationship with our partner? There were a lot of things wrong in the advertisement, and using same sex couples just to fit into the trend of being inclusive is not attractive at all.
Yes, it has of course become a trend for people to use same sex relations to gain sympathy and fame in the consumers. We really need to understand that making inclusive ads does not always mean that people are being supportive of the community. There have been some great advertisements like the Close-up ad or the Vicks ad with Gauri Sawant.
Because they let the community express their feelings in their own way. Those ads portrayed the community in the way they are. The ads do not paint an idealistic picture but give them the freedom to just be themselves. The youth must be able to develop their own ways and customs to show their love for their partners instead of following the traditional misogynist, homophobic, chauvinist rituals. But it is India – here rape culture is acceptable but not the queer culture.
Instead of swearing at me in your minds for using that statement about the country, you should really question how women are still being objectified in the movies. I already know the answer in your mind that movies are made for entertainment and so not everything is about social justice.
But my point is when you want to propose to someone you like, you would pick up Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan’s famous dialogue. Then why is it wrong when I want some female lead to inspire me in my real life. Why do I always have to think of myself as a secondary person or in relation to a man in my life?
If you think otherwise, then please explain to me Sonakshi Sinha’a role in the movie ‘Holiday.’ She was a boxer and a very assertive person, but overall she was nothing more than a love interest of the hero. The role of Katrina Kaif in the latest movie ‘Sooryavanshi’ is the same. Moreover, she is the modern Draupadi as she becomes the reason for the death of the hero’s friend.
Why isn’t Bollywood being blamed for the worst and pettiest portrayal of females in the cinemas? Why is the dress of the actress a point of outrage and not the picturing of the female character as merely a love interest? Is that what men think about girls’ desires – wearing skimpy dresses so that the hero can ogle her and marry her? I am sorry but you are highly mistaken and this is nothing but objectification of women. No wonder women cannot trust Indian men.
After all this, I really wonder what do the writers think while they are writing screenplays. Is it really that the taste of the audience is so poor and orthodox that they cannot experiment with the content of their scripts or is it that people don’t want to change the status quo of the society because they are too afraid to lose the power they have because of their gender and sexuality?