From Docility to Defiance: Femininity and Gender Images in Select Malayalam Movie Songs

Abstract

Malayalam film songs have always exercised a perennial influence on our aesthetic sensibilities and they have played a significant role in our lives. The creation and moulding of gender images in our film songs change considerably over a period of time. Film industry has been male-centred and has projected this patriarchal dominance in several Malayalam film songs. Some of these songs represent the sexuality of the female characters from various perspectives. The image of the women's body portrayed on screen has undergone transition as well as transformation over a period of time. Women in Kerala belong to a heterogenous group and as such their sensibilities, emotions and desires are diverse. This is why the depiction of women on the silver screen has not always been in the self-same manner. The representation of women in Malayalam movies, thus depends to a large extent on the context in which these women characters are located and presented. It is desirable that cinema should reconceive and redefine women as objects of male gaze. Consequently, films should come up with more progressive and positive representation of women. The article explores the portrayal of gender stereotypes in select Malayalam film songs with special emphasis on the portrayal of femininity and how the women characters are objectified and stereotyped.