Between attraction and authority: The making of masculinity and submission
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Ashem Regina
In Manipur’s entertainment industry, the series has been gaining a larger share in recent years, giving many talented faces a platform to be groomed and shine. A ‘series’ is a narrative format in which a story unfolds over multiple episodes or seasons, allowing for the development of a deeper character role. Such a platform helps facilitate social learning skills but might also expose users to harmful content. Two decades before 2026, there was a big jump in the market share of Reynolds pens in India after renowned cricketer Sachin Tendulkar advertised the pen. It shows how digital marketing, the role of a public figure, and the entertainment industry can influence people’s daily activities. If a 1-minute-long ad could affect that many, then imagine how impactful the gender based abusive related content could be on the minds of the youth. I can make the situation worse. What if that series is scripted along the lines of romance and lovebirds?
Scenes such as male spilling tea to the face of the woman, dragging the woman out of the room, hitting dialogue such as ‘eina louningba apamba nupi lougani pamdaba nupi dadi eina hanna fao yengoi’ by the male protagonist, romanticizing the scene of separate living and later on developing a high appeal of attraction between the couple, where in the beforehand case the woman withstands against all odds, excites a particular age group, i.e, the teenage. All these aspects led to the construction of ‘Sexuality’ among the youths. Foucault in ‘The History of Sexuality’ argued that sexuality is not merely biological but socially and historically constructed through discourse, power relations, institutions and repeated representations. A woman being dragged, spilling tea, yelling, or tagging with far-fetched names often creates a desire and normalises certain power relations. It reinforces discourses of male authority and female submission. Such scenes usually make it appear normal or even desirable. Judith Butler in ‘Gender Trouble’ argued that we become gendered through performances and gender is not something we are, but something that is repeatedly done. It is created through repeated actions, behaviours, gestures, speech, clothing and social practices. Creating an illusion of male assertiveness with romance and female submission with attractiveness and loyalty often led to internalization of gender norms.
Teenagers are in a stage of life where they are exploring identity, desire, and relationships, where psychologically they are highly responsive to emotional and sexual cues. Unfortunately, when sexual attraction gets tied to the idea of dominance and submission, it gets equated with love or passion, the gap of equality literally fades away. The depiction of the ‘alpha male’ encourages performative masculinity rather than authentic personal growth. If the narration of a screenwriter focuses on social reality, such as everyday life struggles, poverty, inequality, corruption, violence, mental health, the education system, and the economy, among many other current issues, then the very notion of empowerment might undergo a paradigm shift. Empowerment starts from the mindset, opinion, belief system, and the values upheld by an individual. This notion of decision-making power, in short, the empowered mind, if it is concealed by the clouds of constructed narratives and expected societal norms, then ceases to enable us to see the world. The education system, media narratives, culture and traditions, and daily practices all contributed to the construction of gender norms.
It is the need of the hour that our society acts mindfully in accordance with such factors, since the news of morally degrading acts in our morning tea keeps on spilling continuously. Public figures, on the other hand, have a large amount of social capital (networks, norms of reciprocity, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit). Youth follow their fashion, try out the coffee shop they uploaded on social media, consider the make-up brand they endorsed as authentic, copy their dialogue, and contextualise certain scenes in daily life. In short, a public figure has significant soft power through its social capital to easily create a trend wave. A paradigm shift in the way we expect our society to change about gender norms should start with small steps- normalising cooking, doing dishes, driving, engaging in the gig economy, sharing of property, among many others, by both males and females.
The launching of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana as a part of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao mission; Mission Indradhanush, Ujjwala Yojana; Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana; extension of women helpline number among other schemes of women empowerment proves futile if already in the structure itself enforces those factors that led to the formation of submissive-dominance, wage earner-homemaker, one who has the right to exploit- one who should be the victim. ‘It is much easier to explain the veil than to answer questions about the wounds’, the veil represents the visible patriarchal oppression and traditions which are easy to justify; however, the wounds of silence and psychological experience represent hegemonic control which demands structural change.
Another 8th March, another International Women’s Day will come and go, but,
‘Sanglen phijol setpi chanbi heibi, Chingna lemna nganthoiribi’
‘Nacha yaoyok naokon heibi, Khoirum momon minok leitengbi’
‘Nupi oibi kayabu asengba minok tamhansi’
‘We don’t need a whole pie to grow. We just need our share to grow within the pie’
The writer is Junior Research Fellow of University Grants Commission, currently pursuing Ph.D at the Department of Political Science, Manipur University and can be reached at [email protected]
In Manipur’s entertainment industry, the series has been gaining a larger share in recent years, giving many talented faces a platform to be groomed and shine. A ‘series’ is a narrative format in which a story unfolds over multiple episodes or seasons, allowing for the development of a deeper character role. Such a platform helps facilitate social learning skills but might also expose users to harmful content. Two decades before 2026, there was a big jump in the market share of Reynolds pens in India after renowned cricketer Sachin Tendulkar advertised the pen. It shows how digital marketing, the role of a public figure, and the entertainment industry can influence people’s daily activities. If a 1-minute-long ad could affect that many, then imagine how impactful the gender based abusive related content could be on the minds of the youth. I can make the situation worse. What if that series is scripted along the lines of romance and lovebirds?
Scenes such as male spilling tea to the face of the woman, dragging the woman out of the room, hitting dialogue such as ‘eina louningba apamba nupi lougani pamdaba nupi dadi eina hanna fao yengoi’ by the male protagonist, romanticizing the scene of separate living and later on developing a high appeal of attraction between the couple, where in the beforehand case the woman withstands against all odds, excites a particular age group, i.e, the teenage. All these aspects led to the construction of ‘Sexuality’ among the youths. Foucault in ‘The History of Sexuality’ argued that sexuality is not merely biological but socially and historically constructed through discourse, power relations, institutions and repeated representations. A woman being dragged, spilling tea, yelling, or tagging with far-fetched names often creates a desire and normalises certain power relations. It reinforces discourses of male authority and female submission. Such scenes usually make it appear normal or even desirable. Judith Butler in ‘Gender Trouble’ argued that we become gendered through performances and gender is not something we are, but something that is repeatedly done. It is created through repeated actions, behaviours, gestures, speech, clothing and social practices. Creating an illusion of male assertiveness with romance and female submission with attractiveness and loyalty often led to internalization of gender norms.
Teenagers are in a stage of life where they are exploring identity, desire, and relationships, where psychologically they are highly responsive to emotional and sexual cues. Unfortunately, when sexual attraction gets tied to the idea of dominance and submission, it gets equated with love or passion, the gap of equality literally fades away. The depiction of the ‘alpha male’ encourages performative masculinity rather than authentic personal growth. If the narration of a screenwriter focuses on social reality, such as everyday life struggles, poverty, inequality, corruption, violence, mental health, the education system, and the economy, among many other current issues, then the very notion of empowerment might undergo a paradigm shift. Empowerment starts from the mindset, opinion, belief system, and the values upheld by an individual. This notion of decision-making power, in short, the empowered mind, if it is concealed by the clouds of constructed narratives and expected societal norms, then ceases to enable us to see the world. The education system, media narratives, culture and traditions, and daily practices all contributed to the construction of gender norms.
It is the need of the hour that our society acts mindfully in accordance with such factors, since the news of morally degrading acts in our morning tea keeps on spilling continuously. Public figures, on the other hand, have a large amount of social capital (networks, norms of reciprocity, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit). Youth follow their fashion, try out the coffee shop they uploaded on social media, consider the make-up brand they endorsed as authentic, copy their dialogue, and contextualise certain scenes in daily life. In short, a public figure has significant soft power through its social capital to easily create a trend wave. A paradigm shift in the way we expect our society to change about gender norms should start with small steps- normalising cooking, doing dishes, driving, engaging in the gig economy, sharing of property, among many others, by both males and females.
The launching of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana as a part of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao mission; Mission Indradhanush, Ujjwala Yojana; Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana; extension of women helpline number among other schemes of women empowerment proves futile if already in the structure itself enforces those factors that led to the formation of submissive-dominance, wage earner-homemaker, one who has the right to exploit- one who should be the victim. ‘It is much easier to explain the veil than to answer questions about the wounds’, the veil represents the visible patriarchal oppression and traditions which are easy to justify; however, the wounds of silence and psychological experience represent hegemonic control which demands structural change.
Another 8th March, another International Women’s Day will come and go, but,
‘Sanglen phijol setpi chanbi heibi, Chingna lemna nganthoiribi’
‘Nacha yaoyok naokon heibi, Khoirum momon minok leitengbi’
‘Nupi oibi kayabu asengba minok tamhansi’
‘We don’t need a whole pie to grow. We just need our share to grow within the pie’
The writer is Junior Research Fellow of University Grants Commission, currently pursuing Ph.D at the Department of Political Science, Manipur University and can be reached at [email protected]