By Sonia Huria
The freedom of being ones true self is a basic right and one that is unfortunately not a part of any constitution or declaration of freedom. Through the generations, men and women have suffered gender typecast, resulting into gender roles. This International Women’s Day, as we discuss gender-parity, let us take a moment to contemplate and talk about being ourselves, without feeling the need to justify it. Statements like ‘Men don’t cry’ and ‘Women can’t drive’ are common lingo and regressive not only towards women, but also men and the society at large. And it’s time that individuals are accepted as they are, raising a cultural movement of #ThisIsMe.
The Media & Entertainment industry is a force-multiplier at the heart of society and I believe that it us who can act as a catalyst to disrupt gender conventions. Content produced and disseminated in mass media is at the crux of bringing about social change. Let’s take the example of a few stories told by Viacom18 that have changed the narrative in gender representation. Be it cinema or the small screen, and more recently digital platforms like Voot, characters that portray people (both men and women) in real roles have been widely appreciated. Rani (Queen) owned up to the identity of a woman failedby a relationship; Harman (Shakti) is a man who is tirelessly fighting for the rights of his transgender wife andMeera’s (It’s Not That Simple) journey to self-discovery in a marriage are characters that have seen great success, exemplary of the fact that society is adept to change when media begins a conversation.
And the entire media and entertainment industry has time and again come together to address gender conventions. Powerful advertising campaigns such as Share the Load (Ariel), Touch the Pickle (Whisper) and Like A Girl (Always) have challenged gender type castand age-old practices. More recently the #MeToo campaign led to women breaking their silence around harassment, lending support and voice to one another. Such is the power of media that a film called ‘Bawandar’ based on the Bhanwari Devi rape case led to the PIL that created the Vishakha Guidelines to prevent sexual harassment at workplace.
So, this International Women’s Day, we initiated a conversation amongst our employees about being themselves, and own up to the way they are. #ThisIsMe is a campaign that hopes to open minds and initiate a conversation that spotlights on shedding inhibitions that come along with the way one is supposed to be as opposed to the way we are as individuals. As an industry, we have the power to #OpenNewWorldsand we need to think and act beyond conventions.With #ThisIsMe campaign, we bring forth stories of accepting ourselves as we are, opening minds and avenues for all to do the same.
Sonia Huria is Head- Communications & CSR at Viacom18. The views here are personal.