From: ssankara@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Sornam Sankara)
Subject: Re: Women in Popular Tamil Magazines
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 00:46:20 GMT




(Continued from my previous posting: 4906 of soc.culture.tamil- SSP)




Popular Tamil magazines and construction of gender identity
===========================================================

{Gita Wolf, Economic and Political Weekly, Oct 26 (1991)
 Reproduced without permission}


     An important point is that although the various editors and publishers of
these weeklies come from varied caste, class and occupational backgrounds,
there is complete consensus on the ideology.  All caste and class differences
appear to be subsumed in patriarchy.  While the social norms and values
displayed in these magazines are middle class in origin and derive more often
than not from Brahmin experiences, they are subtly universalized.   Even
weeklies which originate in the Dravidian parties camp appear to accept, in
this context, the universalisation of upper caste experiences.


     The targeted readership of these magazines are the upper and middle
classes.  Gradually, they are also being consumed by the semi-literate urban
slum and small town populations.  A different set of weeklies, which we have
not examined here, cater to the rural population (Rani, Devi etc - SSP).
Although the empahases in these magazines are slightly different, the overall
idological framework essentially remains the same.


     Many of the publishers of these magazines have powerful political and
economic ties.  Some of them are affliated to one or the other of Dravidian
parties, while others belong to the non-offical Brahmin opposition.


     In TN, this connection of misogynist popular culture with politics
effectively REDUCES any alternative space for women.  The nexus between
political power and moral authority also contributes significantly towards the
acceptance and `normalization' of values and attitudes which can only be
dissolute.  It is based on a blend of sanctimoniousness with real politik: most
editors sigh over increase of obscenity, simultaneously expressing their
inability to do anything about it.  Their own magazines are packaged as
innocuos and family oriented.  At times the contradictions inherent in their
duplicity approaches Schizophrenic proportions:
     Maniyan publishes both ITHAYAM PESUGIRATHU, a popular weekly specializing
in titillation, as well as a pro-Hindu, Brahminical religious magazine called
GNANABHUMI.  When questioned about this contradiction, he is supposed to have
retorted, "Why, do we not have pictures of Marilyn Monroe and of goddesses in
the same house !".  This statement deserves an entire decoding essay by itself.


     In order to understand the discrepancy between the ostensible aim and the
revealed ideolgy of the narratives, we have analyzed their manipulative
fictional strategies.  We have avoided detailed plot summaries of all the
stories involved, because we hope that a more generalized examination of
strategies common to a large number of stories helps us to understand the
operations of ideolgy better.





                                        .....To be continued.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.tamil