Satellite Television and the New Indian Woman

Abstract

The article analyzes the rapid development of private satellite television in India during the 1990s and the resulting changes in the portrayals of Indian women. The primary focus in images of Indian women changed from portrayals of women as domestic housewives and mothers, to women as sexual beings who often work outside the home and who have become Westernized. Drawing on the concept of cultural hegemony, a content analysis is carried out of the top 10 rated programs being broadcast on private television networks in India in July 1997. It is found that women are gaining greater visibility in television programming. However, the characters are constructed primarily through patriarchal and nationalist interests, often reverting any progress made in gender-role portrayals to a more traditional status quo. There is also evidence of the process of cultural hegemony being manifested through mass media channels.