TV ADVERTS

Indian adverts’ tryst with male feminism

biba

'Trendsetting' television commercials are normalising male feminism

Scene: a sweet shop. A customer is lauding the shopkeeper on the sudden spurt in business. The shopkeeper Gurdeep Singh—none other than Aamir Khan in his Thugs of Hindostan look—smiles humbly and credits his internet-savvy children for the success. The customer assumes he is referring to his sons, but, much to his surprise, Gurdeep tells him it is his two daughters who have put in all the hard work. “Bete nahi ji, betiya,” says the proud father, who has named his shop, ‘Gurdeep Singh & Daughters’.

The advertisement, which is part of Star Plus's Nayi Soch campaign, has garnered much attention as it challenges conventional thinking (and also because there's Khan!). The idea is not unconventional—India has seen daughters successfully carrying the legacy of their families on their able shoulders, be it Indira Gandhi, the Reddy sisters of Apollo or Nisaba Godrej. But the Nayi Soch campaign stands out for its mere questioning of why not an ‘& Daughters’ company instead of the age-old ‘& Sons’.

The advert is too sane to be real. The message, however, is crisp and clear. One can’t wonder but ask if it had the extra essence of power coming in when a father stood up for his daughters and, more importantly, was not shy to admit it.

It was not the first time that Star Plus has grabbed eyeballs with its Nayi Soch campaign. Last October, cricket fans were in for a pleasant surprise during the final ODI match between India and New Zealand at Visakhapatnam. Team India walked on to the field with their mothers’ names printed on their jerseys instead of their surnames, as part of the campaign. (The mothers would have been elated, as Team India won by a huge margin of 190 runs, and clinched the series 3-2!)

“The Indian cricketers sporting their mothers’ names made for a powerful and emotive statement,” says Uday Shankar, chairman and chief executive officer of Star India. “It supported the voice of the emerging Indian woman and inspired millions to acknowledge and celebrate the identity and role of women in India.”

Brand consultant Harish Bijoor says, “People appreciate it better if a sportsperson or a social worker talks about a women issue rather than a politician speaking about it.”

A closer look at the Indian advert space reveals that men speaking up for women’s causes and demanding gender equality is the next trendsetter. Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad campaign, Havells’ #HawaBadlegi, Manyavar’s advert where cricketer Virat Kohli makes sure the wedding expenses are split between the two families and not borne by the bride’s family alone, and Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan vowing to equally share his assets between his son and daughter—all tinker with the idea of male feminism. The good news is, male feminism is no longer an anathema.

But, at a time when even a woman thinks twice before admitting she is a feminist, how can male feminists help the cause?

“Most often, the inequality that exists between genders is accepted as a norm by women as much as by men. Women definitely need to vocalise that need for change and, in fact, change things with their own actions,” says Shamik Sen Gupta, an independent filmmaker and creator of Anouk's #BoldIsBeautiful ad campaign for online retailer Myntra. “Men lending their voices is an act of acknowledgement of that change; more and more men embracing that change is when things become really impactful.”

Ad creators admit that there is a considerable demand from brands and companies to talk about feminism. It has become fashionable. But, in this frenzy to set trends, what most of the campaigns forgot was to celebrate real womanhood.

While the underlying idea of feminism had always been gender parity, unrealistic depiction of women characters in adverts, campaigns and films ensured that feminism got largely misrepresented and, hence, misinterpreted. Feminists were often portrayed as multi-tasking feisty women, unafraid to question male dominance, proud of their sexuality and often belonging to the cosmopolitan social circles.

What they failed to realise is that there are feminists in every family; that feminists are not who necessarily adore the panel discussions of prime time news hours or hold demonstrations against the horrors of a patriarchal society. Instead, they are mothers who flawlessly manage their day-to-day chores as well as a career that requires equal and undivided attention. Or a single mother who is also a daily wager but refuses to bow down in front of life’s challenges and picks herself up to fend for her kids.

For instance, Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad campaign depicts the usual life of a young working mother managing her household and office work, simultaneously. Her father is seemingly proud and admires his daughter, but disappointed that his son-in-law does not lend a helping hand to manage the daily chores. That’s when reality dawns on him and he realises that he himself has never helped his own wife. The father can be seen questioning why should laundry be always a woman’s duty. The advert managed to set the ball rolling without much fanfare.

A man questioning gender inequality becomes powerful because it helps bridge the gap. Adrijaa Sanyal, creative director at Brandmovers, who conceptualised apparel retailer Biba’s #ChangeTheConversation campaign, says, “For one, now we’re more... in number and in kind, plus diversity brings value. Earlier, the number of men supporting gender parity was too few, if not zilch, and the idea of gender equality, which should have been the norm, seemed like a farce to the majority. Now, with more men coming out as feminists, the idea doesn’t seem so alien after all and takes us as a step further towards achieving that 'ideal world'.”

“If we can make examples of men who're breaking stereotypes, men who're closing the wage gap, men who understand that any kind of authority is acquired through capabilities and not 'gender supremacy', men who raise men and women as equals, men who're making a change, then there is a good chance that it will serve as a driving force for real change,” says Sanyal.

The campaign had two adverts that had male feminism as its underlying theme. The one, in which a girl’s father, during the traditional ‘rishta’ meeting, is shown reverse questioning the prospective groom about his cooking skills, especially, stood out. The guy, in turn, expressing his willingness to learn cooking, was the icing on the cake and conveniently took the message across to the masses.

Such adverts, when speaking through next-door fathers, husbands, sons, brothers and male friends, are strong catalysts to challenge the conventional stereotypical thinking that exists within the society. In effect, they smash the idea of feminism being associated with the elite or the upper class and not pragmatic for laymen. It helps to normalise the talk around feminism. And if this normalisation of feminism is achieved, half the battle is won.

Brand experts say it is part of an evolution. The rhetoric has changed from women voicing their rights to men demanding women’s right to equality. “For things to change, men need to question their own roles, question what they expect as a norm for themselves but does not extend equally to women. Be it a colleague, a sibling, a wife, child or a parent—men need to view and review the situation as they would for themselves. Individual changes will hopefully create a ripple effect for a larger social change,” says Gupta.

He rightly points out that it is high time women stop being objectified or portrayed as incapable of taking care of themselves. The need of the hour is to create a society where men and women can take care of themselves, where the line between a man’s or a woman’s duty is blurred. This, he feels, is possible “...as long as we can create a society that recognises everyone as equal, does not objectify women, does not apply unequal and dubious sexual standards for men and women, shuns its misogynistic and patriarchal attitudes and practices. We need to evolve to this state of mind and state of coexistence”.

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