‘Item Numbers’ Are Only Worsening India’s Rape Culture
by Karishma Desai — Follow @kbdesai311
One hundred and twenty-four miles away from the Taj Mahal, a monument showcasing the ultimate display of deference towards a woman, is New Delhi, the colloquially-dubbed “rape capital of the world.”
Cases of sexual assault in New Delhi have been making global headlines ever since the December 2012 gang-rape case in a private bus. The most recent case of sexual assault in Delhi that came into the limelight involved an Uber driver and passenger.
It comes as no surprise then, that 97% of women surveyed feel uncomfortable in New Delhi, but as Indian news sources reveal, the severity of sexual crimes against women all over India is much worse than previously realized. In 2013 alone, the Indian National Crime Records Bureau cited that “a woman is raped every 20 minutes.” Frightening statistics!
There are various factors preventing women in India from feeling safe. These range from infrastructure issues, such as the lack of household toilets to police corruption. When women must go outside to urinate, they are in an especially vulnerable position, especially late at night. When police callously watch sexual assaults and accept bribes, women can have no expectations of any kind of protection.
Individual factors aside, one common theme unites all rape cases — objectification. The role of sexualized media content on society’s sensibilities cannot be ignored.
There is a fine line between reality and fantasy; it is easy to cross this line in the imagination. Gary R. Brooks, Ph.D. has cited several observable symptoms of the detrimental effect of watching pornography, including voyeurism, objectification and trophyism. Brooks further extrapolated that among children, watching pornography bolsters the idea that “superior sexual satisfaction is attainable without having affection for one’s partner, thereby reinforcing the commoditization of sex and the objectification of humans.”
Another study published in the 2009 edition of Child Abuse Review remarked that “perhaps the most troubling impact of pornography on children and young people is its influence on sexual violence.”
In the video, male interviewees defend their behavior by comparing the women’s outfits to Rakhi Sawant’s wardrobe, despite the fact that the women they encountered were dressed to the contrary.
What this reveals is the false sense of entitlement that the Bollywood industry has irresponsibly promoted. For one, the term, “item girl,” is sexist and degrading. A woman is a human being, not an “item” to be objectified. “Item songs” in Indian cinema cannot be viewed as empowering, any way you view them. Whether a woman wears a burqa or a bikini, she deserves the right to own her body and the right to free expression.
To read on visit: http://www.browngirlmagazine.com/2015/03/item-numbers-are-only-worsening-indias-rape-culture/
Karishma B. Desai freelances for the award-winning IndyWeek, is starting as an overseas contributor to the Bangalore Mirror and was a former intern for UNC-TV (North Carolina’s PBS Affiliate). When she’s not writing articles at Starbucks, you can find her videotaping a new adventure for YouTube or interviewing inspirational people for a documentary. She is a city girl who is working towards her dreams of becoming a TV health/science reporter.
For more stories like this, visit BrownGirlMagazine.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. If you’d like to connect with us, please email us: Staff@BrownGirlMagazine.com. And please recommend our post below!
Originally published at www.browngirlmagazine.com on March 3, 2015.
