Changing Representation of Women in India Soap Operas Post New Economic Reforms

Abstract

New economic reforms of 1991 led to the unprecedented growth of satellite television. With it, there was a change in the portrayal of women in television soap operas. A woman’s body was not just the site of violence, abuse, and othering, but it also became a locale for constructing modernity. The processes of globalization and modernization gave women greater opportunities and significantly challenged the existing patriarchal norms. The globalized media offered new role models and altered gender relations in society as women started entering the public sphere. However, it had its negative consequences owing to the increase in structural inequalities in the society and the portrayal of the modern ‘new Indian woman’ which did little to liberate women, fostering patriarchy. This paper aims to analyze the impact of liberalization on the representation of women in Indian TV soaps from 1990-2000 and the ways in which the popular television soaps disposed of the liberated characters of women and brought the traditional patriarchal and cultural values in the framework of global consumerism.