Sexuality and substance abuse portrayals in item songs in Bollywood movies

The current research examined a specific genre of songs in Bollywood films called 'item songs' which are known for showing prominent Bollywood actresses surrounded by groups of men performing provocative and sexual dances. Specifically, 125 items songs released between 1991-2014 were exami...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:South Asian popular culture 2019-01, Vol.17 (1), p.15-29
Main Authors: Jain, Parul, Roy, Enakshi, Garud, Nisha, Mazid, Imran
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actors
Bollywood
Bollywood films
Content analysis
Drug abuse
gender
Hindi movies
Illnesses
India
item songs
Mass media effects
Mass media images
Media coverage
Men
Motion pictures
Music
Sexual abuse
Sexuality
Sexualization
Social conditions & trends
Songs
South Asian studies
Spectators
stereotypes
Substance abuse
Tobacco
Uptake
Violence against women
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Summary:The current research examined a specific genre of songs in Bollywood films called 'item songs' which are known for showing prominent Bollywood actresses surrounded by groups of men performing provocative and sexual dances. Specifically, 125 items songs released between 1991-2014 were examined using quantitative content analysis for the portrayals of sexuality, and substance. The findings indicate that most such portrayals depict thin, young, scantily clad women, performing sexualized dances for male spectators. Furthermore, most portrayals featured illicit substances such as alcohol and tobacco. Given the rising number of cases of violence against women in the Indian society and an uptake in substance abuse and related health conditions, it is pertinent to examine the role media portrayals may be playing in influencing the related attitudes and behaviours. The implications of the study are discussed.
ISSN:1474-6689
1474-6697
DOI:10.1080/14746689.2019.1585605