Tracing the gender misrepresentation in South Asian movies and its consequences in reality

Abstract

Women have historically been treated as secondary and inferior to men. Media has a great impact on female representation. “Various components of human psychological functioning, such as emotions, learning and memory, behavior patterns, desires, and personality competencies, are strongly influenced by gender roles and beliefs” (Ward & Grower 178). Gender is a socially constructed concept that generally is associated with the standardization and the formation of fixed categories. For example, for a large part of human history gender has been represented by only two divisions, male and female. However, the male has always been portrayed as superior in broadcast media. During the late 20th century and the 21st century, the issue of gender has been a reception ground of intense analysis and revision. As gender is not only limited to males and females. Thus, the main attempt of this research is to analyze how gender discrimination is portrayed in South Asian movies and songs as well as the influences of gender misrepresentation on South Asian culture and society.