When it comes to debating over portrayal of women in the media, India is yet to address the impact of this issue on a serious note. We are not limiting the discussion to women onscreen. This is the era that latches on off-screen as well. Leaked Pictures! Wardrobe Malfunctions! Aren’t these calling for immediate attention?
We have come a long way from gossip columns to tabloids that glorified in the ages of yellow journalism. Things are available at a click now. India Digital News Report 2019, published by Reuters Institute, suggests that 68% of Indian users consume news on smartphones. Our phones are an extremely private zone, a bubble that allows one to filter their choice of activities. From a larger perspective, who is to be blamed for sexualising news content related to women? Is it the audience that lusts over their fantasies or should the media be accountable for sending out a message that objectifies women allowing a continuous flow of derogatory content?
However, it did not start the same. Before the invasion of internet, we had a good amount of press running stories targeting what a woman wore, to how she looks to what she essays onscreen. If you thought we have left that phase behind, a few years ago, Avengers actress Scarlett Johansson was asked by a reporter, if she wore undergarments beneath her superhero (Black Widow) costume. She did give back then and there, calling it inappropriate. We’ve also had Deepika Padukone calling out a leading daily that made headlines of her cleavage. Surely, Indian journalism needs to come up with better questions for women who are an equally powerful workforce of the Indian cinema.
Wardrobe malfunctions are an age old favourite of the paparazzi culture, something that is gaining momentum for the past couple of years. Shutterbugs have come a long way since they caught Carol Gracious’ top fall off revealing her breasts on the runway. Now they’re everywhere, with verified Instagram accounts, stalking every move from airports to restaurants. Celebrities are at the tipping point when it comes to how much is private and what makes for public. For instance, Arjun Kapoor thanked the media for being supportive when he didn’t want to talk about his relationship with Malaika Arora. But this came after he requested them to leave him alone when they would set up camp outside his house. Creepy right?
Leaked content has been a priority for gossip and entertainment mediums. It wasn’t easy to deliver scoops at a fast pace, than it is now thanks to web portals with ninja speed. Push notifications or flash news were ideally meant to deliver breaking stories, content that really needed to be provided with a maximum outreach for public interest. However, our multi-faceted media knows how to make the most of a medium. There are news websites that will send in a notification for a woman posing in bare minimum clothes, urging you to click on it.
Extending upon social media, welcome to the age of trolls and faceless comments that make headlines more than a public affair that matters. Words that suggest brutally or mercilessly trolled make up for the dominant social media that eats up powerful women who are often considered a threat to Indian culture. Adding fuel to the fire are news articles that take it up a notch by providing attention to the same and bringing the masses closer to this phenomena.
That brings us to the question, what is news? It is a newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events. An article that tells you to view a woman in a bright coloured lingerie may speak of a recent event, but certainly not noteworthy to drop everything and have a look right? There are dedicated websites that do the needful, but for news portals? We need to get ahead of how hot and sexy Poonam Pandey is.
There are hundreds of entertainment news websites only in India and the number keeps increasing with time. However, delivering content that objectifies women may not be the need of the hour. So is it alarming to see the growth of such news pouring in? The workforce handling news indeed comes with good intellect. The harsh reality is that news that hits the human note serves the purpose of daily views. The blunt answer here is that Jo dikhta hai woh bikhta hai (you see what sells). But does supply happen when there’s demand? Not really. A prospective manufacturer will create demand. In this case, the role of the manufacturer is essayed by the media. Not that it manufactures content, but manufactures the curiosity that leads readers to a story.
An establishment that once fought for freedom, slams anyone who demeans women empowerment, has its shining armour fading with derogatory content that eventually goes against what it stands for. There is no good or bad media. There is only one medium that has the power to make or break an individual in question who is dragged in the spotlight of judgemental spectators. The solution resides in a simple choice of choosing quality over quantity, content over scoops, and maybe in the long run we can get over who wore what when and where.
