Affirmation and Denial: Construction of Femininity on Indian Television

In many parts of the world, women are continually portrayed in one of two ways: either in terms of traditional domestic roles or in terms of their sexual appeal to the male population. In Affirmation and Denial, the authors examine this two-dimensional perception--emphasizing that a contributing factor has been the lack of access and control over communication media given to women. This book seeks to redress this imbalance and to promote portrayals of women which reflect their significant contributions to society. Krishnan and Dighe have produced an eclectic research methodology to survey the nature and quality of the portrayal of women in various types of programs on television. Using Indian television as their case study, Krishnan and Dighe found that traditional values have had a direct impact over the portrayal of women. They are invariably portrayed as wives, mothers, or daughters, or they are depicted as victims of adversity or beneficiaries of government schemes. Affirmation and Denial is necessary reading for all those interested in gender studies, communication, sociology, and development studies. "This well-written book is a welcome addition to a growing volume of research using diverse investigative techniques to analyze literature, art, television, movies, and other media. It will be useful as a reference work to students of sociology of mass media, sex roles, and women's studies courses." --Contemporary Sociology "Two social scientists of repute have done a thorough analysis of the complex interaction between womanhood in its widest sense and images and representation of the female sex on Indian Television. That Prabha Krishnan and Anita Dighe are women only enhances the quality of their work, their perceptions and their ability to cut through the rhetoric and proceed to the heart of the issue....the authors are at their best in establishing a link between the findings of their research and the structures which encourage the unrealistic construction of femininity on television....because such a thorough discussion takes place, I commend the scholars on this book and recommend it as reading not only to feminists but to all, especially to Indian women, so that they might be conscientised into the reality of womanhood in India." --Media Development