Patriarchy and Mass media

The entire country is enraged at the incident that took place last year. Strikes, protests & violent clashes across India were the outcomes. It is not the first time India has experienced such an incident. 

Being born as a girl, we cannot think of returning home late at night or walking in an empty street without having to worry about our safety. How long is half the population going to feel unsafe?

The problem starts from the smallest of the smallest things that happen around us, which is normalized so much that we do not notice the fault in it. Using bad language and making offensive jokes about women, catcalling women, and defining “womanhood” as submissive are signs of a misogynistic mindset that contribute to trivializing big issues like rape and sexual abuse. 

A person's identity, behavior, and thought process are influenced greatly by mass media. It has a subconscious effect on our minds. In terms of portraying gender roles, mass media has become far more liberal than in the past, but there is much more work left to be done.

Many films portray women as objects of masculine desire or male attention, which glorifies toxic masculinity and misogyny. Many of us enjoy listening to the item songs, but do we know the bad effects of these songs? Item songs are something that attracts more audiences and it has become a marketing strategy to make films work and have box office hits and also most of the time these item songs have nothing to do with the storyline. A large number of people go to watch the movies primarily for the item songs and that's how the movie tickets are sold. These are often portrayed in a scene showing a young woman performing before men with lustful eyes. The lyrics often sexualize and objectify women. The girl performing is usually called the 'item girl', as she is objectified. They are objectified to the point that they’re seen only as bodies and the fact that they are humans with feelings and emotions, is completely ignored. 

Many films often present offensive rape jokes and dialogues like 'boys are bound to make mistakes', justifying rape. This leads to many men in real life justifying their actions, like catcalling women or cracking jokes about rape and women's bodies because their 'favorite hero' in a movie did so. There's a huge difference between portraying a misogynistic character in a way that glorifies their wrong actions and showing them in a way that highlights how wrong they are. There's nothing wrong as long as such characters are portrayed negatively and the right messages are conveyed.

At the same time, women are also portrayed in many films, advertisements, and TV serials as the ideal housewife, the caretaker of the family who would sacrifice anything for her husband and family and that they belong at home. 

 It's a false notion that patriarchy is enjoyed by men. It not just affects women but also men. We've heard things like "Men don't cry", and "Mard ko dard nahi hota" in many films and shows. A patriarchal mindset does not let men express their emotions or cry. Men are pressured to earn more than their wives because of this. Patriarchy is not just a set of rules created by men but something that also sets an ideal of masculinity. And men who don't fit into the ideal masculine figure are shamed and labeled as ‘not man enough’. Men are victims of gender crime as well, and it doesn't really get much recognition. Men have historically been portrayed as strong, which is why, even now, being sensitive and emotional as a man is taboo. 

Since mass media has a powerful effect on people's minds, attitudes towards women might change if they were portrayed more respectfully and positively. There are movies like this out there that teach good values and do not disrespect any gender and it has been observed how these films positively influence people.

Now, it’s up to us, the common people, to wisely choose what we consume, seeing how it affects our mindset and thought-process.

- Tiasa Santra (XI)