Skip to main content

Impact of Bollywood? 90% young women say male violence is an accepted social norm, one has to live with it

By Rajiv Shah
In a stark revelation, about 90% of the female respondents in the age group 18-30 years, interviewed in an Oxfam India report to ascertain the impact of Bollywood films on youth, admitted to either being recipients of intimate partner violence (IPV) if they were married, or spoke of IPV as an accepted social norm, if they were not.
The report, which is based on focus group discussions (FGDs) in rural and urban areas of five states -- Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha -- notes that "only two women said that their spouses had never hit them", adding, "Most reported forms of partner violence include slaps, pushing, rebukes and mental cruelty."
"There is a very high incidence of extra marital affairs by men in all locations", the report states, adding, "Most women felt that it was acceptable to be hit once in a while. 'Wohi sawarenge, wohi dulharenge…toh wohi na marenge…' (he is the one who loves us, takes care of us…so what if he hits us once in a while…) was a common sentiment".
The report is titled "The Irresistible & Oppressive Gaze: Indian Cinema and Violence against Women and Girls", and is based on inputs from activists Lopa Ghosh, Nisha Agrawal, Ranu Kayastha Bhogal, Julie Thekkudan, Diya Dutta, Mary Thomas, Rajini Menon and Himanshi Matta.
Apart from interviews during FGDs, the report carries individual reactions, more than half of whom were females, mainly to elicit the impact of films on youth. "When asked about the qualities of an ideal man, 95% said that he should be above all loving and caring, be able to earn consistently for his family (90%), have a good personality (86%) and spend time with their wives (70%)", the report says.
Even while "only about 60% talked about physical attractiveness and masculinity", when probed on the notion of manliness, the report says, most cited instances of Salman Khan in "Sultan" because he repents and grieves for the loss of his child and loves his wife loyally; Akshay Kumar in "Airlift" for his patriotic fervor; Ajay Devgn in "Drishyam" for his ability as a common man to defend his family; Aamir Khan in "Dangal" and Shahrukh Khan in "Chak De" for their motivational roles; and actors such as Ranveer Singh and Siddharth Malhotra for their masculine attractions.
The report says, "It is not surprising that in 48% of the films, men perform a nationalistic function, serve the country, society or community in some form. In 17% of the films, women perform a similar function."
However, during a discussion of a sequence from "Dabangg" (2010), in which Salman Khan tells Sonakshi Sinha that she should "accept his offer of money when offered lovingly as it is well within his right to ‘slap’ her into accepting his bidding", the report says, "70% of the female respondents were of the opinion that this was a romantic conversation hence the hint of violence is excusable."
The report notes how with their folksy diction and rural proverbs, item songs are widely used tools for sexual harassment. "95% of young girls reported that boys and men played those songs on their mobile phones or sang them out loud when they walked to school or went somewhere to run an errand."
The study concludes that Indian cinema has "considerable influence on patriarchal attitudes and sexist behaviour across all aspects of life and society. Films are the primary, and to an extent, the only cultural good consumed by the communities that were part of this research."
According to the report, "The objectified image of a woman on screen deeply influences young girls and women. They find themselves caught between tradition and aspirations. Fear of assault is connected to the way in which girls dress up. Women on screen frame the notions held by young men and boys about how a woman should be."
"More dangerously", the report says, "Notions of consent as mandatory has been completely liquidated by mainstream films. Acquiring a romantic partner is considered to be a real goal. Exposure to explicit content encourages irresponsible sexual behaviours."

Comments

TRENDING

Avoidable Narmada floods: Modi birthday fete caused long wait for release of dam waters

Counterview Desk  Top advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has accused the Sardar Sarovar dam operators for once again acting in an "unaccountable" manner, bringing "avoidable floods in downstream Gujarat."  In a detailed analysis, SANDRP has said that the water level at the Golden Bridge in Bharuch approached the highest flood level on September 17, 2023, but these "could have been significantly lower and much less disastrous" both for the upstream and downstream areas of the dam, if the authorities had taken action earlier based on available actionable information.

Biden urged to warn Modi: US can declare India as worst religious freedom offender

By Our Representative  During a Congressional Briefing held on Capitol Hill, Washington DC, Nadine Maenza, former Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), has wondered why the Biden administration should raise issues of mass anti-minority mob violence  -- particularly in Haryana and Manipur -- with Modi. Modi should be told that if such violence continues, the US will be “compelled by law” to designate India as one of the world’s worst offenders of religious freedom, she urged.

From 'Naatu-Naatu' to 'Nipah-Nipah': Dancing to the tune of western pipers?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Some critics have commented that the ecstatic response of most Indians to the Oscar for the racy Indian song, “Naatu-Naatu” from the film, “RRR” reeks of sheer racism, insulting visuals and a colonial hangover. It was perhaps these ingredients that impressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, one critic says.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Why iconic Urdu book stall, publishing house Maktaba Jamia died an 'unnatural' death

By Firoz Bakht Ahmed*  We have all grown through the fragrant flavours and flairs of our childhood, one of them being our childhood mother-tongue historic magazines like, “Thakurmar Jhuli” (Bengali), “Khilauna”, Payam-e-Taleem" (Urdu), “Hans” (Marathi), “Parag” (Hindi), “Chitralekha” (Gujarati), “Chandamama” (Telugu), etc. I “drank” Urdu while suckling his mother and learnt the language not from any madrasa, school or college but from these publications only — my treasure trove!

Asset managers hold '2.8 times more equity' in fossil fuel cos than in green investments

By Deepanwita Gita Niyogi*  The world’s largest asset managers are far off track to meet the  2050 net zero commitments , a new study  released by InfluenceMap , a London-based think tank working on climate change and sustainability, says. Released on August 1, the Asset Managers and Climate Change 2023 report by FinanceMap, a work stream of InfluenceMap, finds that the world’s largest asset managers have not improved on their climate performance in the past two years.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Evading primary responsibility, ONGC decides to invest Rs 15,000 crore in sick subsidiary

By NS Venkataraman*  It is reported that Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will infuse about Rs 15,000 crore in ONGC Petro-additions Ltd (OPaL) as part of a financial restructuring exercise. ONGC currently holds 49.36 per cent stake in (OPaL), which operates a mega petrochemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat. GAIL (India) Ltd has 49.21 per cent interest and Gujarat State Petrochemical Corporation (GSPC) has the remaining 1.43 per cent.

Sales, profits of Indian firms 'deteriorate', yet no significant increase in cost pressures

By Our Representative  The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad's (IIM-A's) latest Business Inflation Expectations Survey (BIES), a monthly exercise, has said that while cost perceptions data does not indicate significant increase of cost pressures, sales and profits of the Indian firms have deteriorated.

Why Bangladesh is achieving 'new heights' amidst economic collapse of Pakistan

By Sufian Siddique*  Pakistan's economy is on the brink of bankruptcy like Sri Lanka's. Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have fallen below $3 billion. They have asked the IMF for a 'bailout loan' a long time ago, but the IMF is trying to impose strict conditions that Pakistan's current ruling coalition has no capacity to meet. Even China and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan's long-standing loyal friends, are now reluctant to shoulder Pakistan's burden.