Gender Roles and Representations in Bollywood Item Songs: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Emerging Terms

Abstract

Gender based polarization among the people of different societies exists since the time immemorial. It is reflected through attitude, behavior and discourse of the humanity as a whole. Findings of various gender based studies reveal that males were assigned with the tags of bravery and roles of active performance whereas females were known by the name of frailty and assigned passive roles in the walk of life. This study has focused on gender roles and representations reflected in discourse of music. Items songs of the Bollywood movies have been targeted on the basis of their popularity and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) model of Fairclough has been applied for the analysis of emerging terms in these songs. The study reveals that under the significant influence of Bollywood social inequalities are reproduced, represented and reinforced through popular music especially Item Songs. The audience capture innate message in the musical discourse, which implicitly suggests the acceptance of female roles in terms of social performance at lower level under the influence of males. It is quite significant to explore the patriarchal ideology in terms of its influence which causes subordinations and creates a sense of inferiority among the females, and also portrays them as inferiors and usable commodities.