I am analyzing the most viewed Bollywood music videos on YouTube using the Sex Role Perspective. While analyzing with the Sex Role Perspective, I will utilize the items for evaluating masculinity and femininity as presented by Hyde (1995, p. 134), and these specific items will be italicized. In this post, I will be discussing the music video for “Genda Phool” by Badshah.

Link to video: Badshah – Genda Phool | JacquelineFernandez | Payal Dev | Official Music Video 2020

Evaluating Masculinity

  • Reinforcing stereotypes
    • The male rapper shows the stereotypical traits of being dominant, forceful, and having a strong personality, as seen in the way he carries himself and makes eye contact with others often throughout the video.
    • In one scene, the male rapper and female singer are sitting on a couch together, but the male rapper is positioned above his female counterpart. This further reinforces the stereotypically masculine trait of dominance.
  • Resisting stereotypes
    • Many of the male background dancers wear outfits that are very colorful and do many of the same dance moves as the female background dancers. This ends up presenting some of these male background dancers as cheerful and warm, stereotypically feminine traits.

Evaluating Femininity

  • Reinforcing stereotypes
    • Most of the women in the music video are shown wearing colorful saris and dancing happily, reinforcing stereotypes of being cheerful and warm.
    • At one point, the male rapper is about to say a swear word when the female singer covers his mouth. This very directly reinforces the feminine stereotype of not using harsh language.
    • Many of the female characters are dressed in outfits that show a lot of skin, which, when combined with many of the dance moves in the video, makes for some stereotypically objectifying scenes.
    • At one point, the male rapper picks up the female singer and twirls her around, portraying the stereotypical feminine trait of being childlike. In addition, the female singer’s movements towards the male rapper, like touching him on the shoulder, tend to be gentle and tender.
  • Resisting stereotypes
    • The female singer is seen in several instances making direct eye contact with the camera and with the male rapper. This resists the feminine stereotype of being shy and instead shows the masculine trait of assertiveness.

Shared by: Seela Raj
Image Credit: https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/04/genda-phool-1200.jpg