Gender, Value, and Signification: Women and Television in Kerala

In a context where despite high levels of literacy and economic independence, women in Kerala are still expected to conform to conservative standards of docility, obedience and family-oriented (at the cost of their own happiness), the author surveys the impact of prime time television's impact on a sample of urban of rural women. Identifying television as an accessible media in the private sphere for women, the study critically evaluates the content of serials and commercials targeting women in terms of their gender stereotyping and their representations of the ideal woman. The study points to the popular representation of tradition-bound women who gain approval and acceptance through suffering (rather than resistance), the negative messages communicated through commercials regarding women, and the gender insensitivity of television programs around discussions of women's issues, as well as the use of women as alluring props, rather than as thinking beings.