Problematic representation of Femme Queer in popular media
Equality
While in the last few years, the representation of LGBTIQA+ individuals in popular Indian media has seen a steady and rather positive growth (case in point: Kapoor and Sons, Aligarh, Ek Ladki ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Sheer Qorma), the representation and acceptance of femme, queer, and non-binary folks still continue to be non-existent.
“Is this a man or a woman?”
In February 2021, Designer Sabyasachi Mukherji chose model Rabanne Victor in an androgynous, gender-non-conforming garment for his Sabyasachi X Bergdorf Goodman collection. He also featured Rabanne in his 2019 campaign.
What remained constant through these shoots was the blatant femme-phobia of the audience. Some comments received were “Is this a man or a woman?” and “this is beyond stupidity...stop making male models look like jokers”.
What’s also interesting here to note is how most women perceived this almost newfound change in perspective of an ideal male model. One would assume that women in India, who have been stigmatised and marginalised for being, well women, would perhaps embrace this transition into a more inclusive space.
However, patriarchy runs deep in our veins across the gender spectrum. Men in dresses continue to make folks all around the world uncomfortable across boundaries (case in point, Harry Styles in a lilac Gucci gown on the cover of Vogue). Indians still continue to be driven by popular media, in the form of films, television and music videos.
Popular Hindi films have managed to develop incredibly disappointing archetypes of LGBTIQA+ folks, and often fail to talk about the larger issues that surround the members of the LGBTQIA+ communities, or even showcase them in ordinary/positive storylines.
Let’s look at some of these problematic tropes:
The effeminate horny gay man: Actor Suresh Menon prancing about in mainstream films like Kal Ho Na Ho, Dostana etc, acting the inveterate gay man.
The-erotic-destructive-lesbian: Lesbians are often used in Bollywood only for semi-pornographic representation, furthering the patriarchal structure on which Bollywood, and the rest of the society, is based.
The cross-dressing lampoon: Amitabh Bachchan’s impersonation of a eunuch in Laawaris.
The predatorial/villanious transgender: Think of the moves Sadak and Sangharsh, and more recently, Akshay Kumar’s Laxmii.
(Source: News18)
What Bollywood doesn't talk about?
Bullying, homophobia and conversion therapies still continue to be a reality in India, pushing LGBTIQA+ individuals to suicide and even honour killings.
Effeminate men and trans women are often abandoned by parents, and most drop out of schools owing to constant bullying, nagging and physical assaults. 52% face police brutality. Nearly 40% experienced sexual abuse before turning 18. 58% dropped out of school before the 10th standard.
Cadence Owens (a New York Times best-selling author) in a tweet shared, “There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence. It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men.”
The reason why the portrayal of femme women in ordinary settings seems almost abnormal to the masses is the aftermath of how one is programmed by societal expectations.
The representation, while it has had some positive change in recent years ( eg: ‘Super Deluxe’), social media and peer-to-peer conversation still continue to reek of femme-phobia, homophobia, misogyny, and sexism.
A simple piece of garment is a lot more than just a piece of fabric to many - it is where many find a sense of belonging, their freedom, their empowerment, and the right to express oneself unabashedly, and above all one’s fundamental right to ‘dignity’.
But, this too can change, one step at a time.
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