Beyond stereotypes
Ads, soaps and reality shows claim to give people what they want, but
they also give them what they - and certainly workplaces - don't want.
Think: We have used stereotypes to create brands. Can we now use brands to break the stereotypes? That's a question many would love to pose to every ad man worth his creative - it's also exactly the question that A.L. Sharada, Programme Director, Population First, an NGO working on population and health issues within the framework of women's rights and social development, posed to media practitioners in a presentation titled Gender Nuances in Advertising.
It's a valid question: when the boys are shown in advertising - and that happens most of the time - they are invariably the planners, the guys initiating the action. The girls, well, they're mostly at home, with their mothers, and endorsing beauty products. The boys grow up to become decision makers; the girls grow up to become well-groomed housewives or coy seductresses - there's nothing in between. "Ads continue to show women within the patriarchal framework and young girls in passive Don't believe her? Cut to a long shot of a swimsuit clad woman emerging from the sea. The camera closes in as she glides through the waves. Voiceover: "Vishwas hai, kuch khaas hai isme... JK SuperCement." Translation: "There is faith that there is something special in this." The ad was shown earlier this year during the highly-watched cricket matches of the Indian Premier League.
That's just one example of a woman's body being used to sell something totally removed from what she personifies - in this case, a mind-numbing commodity like cement. Associating JK SuperCement with a woman in a swimsuit calls for a suspension of belief of titanic proportions.
But, then again, suspension of belief is not alien to a society that has fattened itself on the popcorn of films featuring women as efficient eye candy, regressive soaps, and 'reality' shows and advertising that eschew reality. The woman cannot do any good, she just has to either be bad or look good. "No matter what she is seen doing, the overriding image is that of a woman who is anxious about her looks," say Santosh Desai, Managing Director and CEO, Futurebrands India.
Now decode the image of the "goodie two-shoes, looking good" woman in the workplace. One reaction from the males: What is she doing here? She should be at home. Another reaction, of the more "progressive" types, can be even more dangerous: She doesn't have any hang-ups, she's fun-loving. "Earlier, only a husband or someone within the family was ever shown getting close to a woman; today, it could be a virtual stranger," points out Desai. Herein lies the danger: is it all right for women to be portrayed to be comfortable in situations when, in fact, they're not? For instance, is it kosher for a successful male in a pub - a stranger all the same - to put his arm around a woman? Is it all right for a "modern" woman to be driving a vehicle but eventually carrying the baggage of a more successful man? Is it all right to show a woman officer turn amorous by a mere hint of a fragrance?
If you haven't seen those ads don't worry, they're not the only vehicles of mass objectification of women. "TV serials, movie scripts and reality shows are as much at fault as the ads," observes Maithili Ganjoo, a sociologist with advertising agency JWT in Delhi. In what can be debated as the power of choice, women are seen opting for situations that are hardly empowering. Ganjoo points to reality show Emotional Atyachaar on UTV Bindass that has young people giving in to temptation outside of their relationship: "It may sound prudish, but is it all right to show multiple, simultaneous relationships? Is it all right to show women seducing men, or being seduced in such a casual manner?" she asks.
Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) have mastered the art of ostensibly taking up social issues that only serve as a platform to reinforce the stereotype of regression, which is conveniently set in the garb of tradition. One of Balaji Telefilms' shows, Bairi Piya on Colors, latched onto the theme of farmer suicides. But it didn't take too long for the story to degenerate into a landlord's obsession with a village girl - who is oppressed till she gives in and becomes the landlord's wife.
Ditto is the case with another show, Mann ki Awaaz Pratigya on Star Plus. The show was based on the idea of women empowerment against eve-teasers. But the house into which the protagonist girl is married seems a haven for male chauvinists, who take pride in beating the women folk with mojris and belans.
Star Plus, arguably the pioneer in soaps that gave kitchen politics respectability, and jewellery-laden and scheming women their day in the sun, claims to be turning a new leaf. new show, Kali - Ek Agnipariksha, says Gaurav Banerjee, Head of Content and Strategy at Star Plus, will expose viewers to the trials and tribulations of Indian women who are increasingly being subjected to sexual harassment".
Sure, but the danger here, too, is that sexual harassment can be great fodder for producers more keen to titillate than educate. The same can be said of news channels that claim to expose sexual crimes in a bid to get higher ratings. As Ganjoo puts it: "We are welcoming new thoughts, but often today in the guise of liberation we are sold beautifully packaged images that are not really what we should be getting comfortable about."
The counter view: ads and serials today project the reality of society, with all its warts and quirks. Says ad stalwart Alyque Padamsee: "It is true that a pretty woman gets undue attention at work, but I am happy to say that a handsome, well-dressed man gets an equal share."
Padamsee points out that there is in fact "a big change in society and in our ads". According to him, advertising today often shows a woman calling the shots. "Women are shown molesting men, seducing them, in charge at the office." Padamsee refers to an overtly sexual ad for a deodorant brand called Wild Stone that shows a woman reaching out for a man in the dark - who happens to be her sister's husband. You could call that progression or counter-intuition. But it does little good for a guy who has either just left a small town or completed his education in an all-boys institution and entered a workplace where the fires burning are mostly in the bellies of men - and women - eager to scale the corporate ladder.
It's a valid question: when the boys are shown in advertising - and that happens most of the time - they are invariably the planners, the guys initiating the action. The girls, well, they're mostly at home, with their mothers, and endorsing beauty products. The boys grow up to become decision makers; the girls grow up to become well-groomed housewives or coy seductresses - there's nothing in between. "Ads continue to show women within the patriarchal framework and young girls in passive Don't believe her? Cut to a long shot of a swimsuit clad woman emerging from the sea. The camera closes in as she glides through the waves. Voiceover: "Vishwas hai, kuch khaas hai isme... JK SuperCement." Translation: "There is faith that there is something special in this." The ad was shown earlier this year during the highly-watched cricket matches of the Indian Premier League.
That's just one example of a woman's body being used to sell something totally removed from what she personifies - in this case, a mind-numbing commodity like cement. Associating JK SuperCement with a woman in a swimsuit calls for a suspension of belief of titanic proportions.
But, then again, suspension of belief is not alien to a society that has fattened itself on the popcorn of films featuring women as efficient eye candy, regressive soaps, and 'reality' shows and advertising that eschew reality. The woman cannot do any good, she just has to either be bad or look good. "No matter what she is seen doing, the overriding image is that of a woman who is anxious about her looks," say Santosh Desai, Managing Director and CEO, Futurebrands India.
Now decode the image of the "goodie two-shoes, looking good" woman in the workplace. One reaction from the males: What is she doing here? She should be at home. Another reaction, of the more "progressive" types, can be even more dangerous: She doesn't have any hang-ups, she's fun-loving. "Earlier, only a husband or someone within the family was ever shown getting close to a woman; today, it could be a virtual stranger," points out Desai. Herein lies the danger: is it all right for women to be portrayed to be comfortable in situations when, in fact, they're not? For instance, is it kosher for a successful male in a pub - a stranger all the same - to put his arm around a woman? Is it all right for a "modern" woman to be driving a vehicle but eventually carrying the baggage of a more successful man? Is it all right to show a woman officer turn amorous by a mere hint of a fragrance?
If you haven't seen those ads don't worry, they're not the only vehicles of mass objectification of women. "TV serials, movie scripts and reality shows are as much at fault as the ads," observes Maithili Ganjoo, a sociologist with advertising agency JWT in Delhi. In what can be debated as the power of choice, women are seen opting for situations that are hardly empowering. Ganjoo points to reality show Emotional Atyachaar on UTV Bindass that has young people giving in to temptation outside of their relationship: "It may sound prudish, but is it all right to show multiple, simultaneous relationships? Is it all right to show women seducing men, or being seduced in such a casual manner?" she asks.
Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) have mastered the art of ostensibly taking up social issues that only serve as a platform to reinforce the stereotype of regression, which is conveniently set in the garb of tradition. One of Balaji Telefilms' shows, Bairi Piya on Colors, latched onto the theme of farmer suicides. But it didn't take too long for the story to degenerate into a landlord's obsession with a village girl - who is oppressed till she gives in and becomes the landlord's wife.
Ditto is the case with another show, Mann ki Awaaz Pratigya on Star Plus. The show was based on the idea of women empowerment against eve-teasers. But the house into which the protagonist girl is married seems a haven for male chauvinists, who take pride in beating the women folk with mojris and belans.
Star Plus, arguably the pioneer in soaps that gave kitchen politics respectability, and jewellery-laden and scheming women their day in the sun, claims to be turning a new leaf. new show, Kali - Ek Agnipariksha, says Gaurav Banerjee, Head of Content and Strategy at Star Plus, will expose viewers to the trials and tribulations of Indian women who are increasingly being subjected to sexual harassment".
Sure, but the danger here, too, is that sexual harassment can be great fodder for producers more keen to titillate than educate. The same can be said of news channels that claim to expose sexual crimes in a bid to get higher ratings. As Ganjoo puts it: "We are welcoming new thoughts, but often today in the guise of liberation we are sold beautifully packaged images that are not really what we should be getting comfortable about."
The counter view: ads and serials today project the reality of society, with all its warts and quirks. Says ad stalwart Alyque Padamsee: "It is true that a pretty woman gets undue attention at work, but I am happy to say that a handsome, well-dressed man gets an equal share."
Padamsee points out that there is in fact "a big change in society and in our ads". According to him, advertising today often shows a woman calling the shots. "Women are shown molesting men, seducing them, in charge at the office." Padamsee refers to an overtly sexual ad for a deodorant brand called Wild Stone that shows a woman reaching out for a man in the dark - who happens to be her sister's husband. You could call that progression or counter-intuition. But it does little good for a guy who has either just left a small town or completed his education in an all-boys institution and entered a workplace where the fires burning are mostly in the bellies of men - and women - eager to scale the corporate ladder.
