The Golden Era of cross-dressing in Indian television.
India is probably one of the very few nations, where women have a pivotal role in the establishment of our history. Apart from being the mothers and daughters that mould the future generations, women have had been accomplished warriors, freedom fighters, top officers, politicians, poets, singers, actors, writers, athletes, businesswomen, educators, pilots and much more. That doesn’t mean that there was any lack of suppression and misogyny, which is still there in abundance.
However, whatever the way the men (including me), have visualized them, looked at them or tried to understand them, we have always been overtly fascinated by them. The way their anatomy, intellect and their voice could distract the focus of a strong mythological meditator like Vishvamitra, or would simply crush the presidency of a popular leader like Clinton, muffles our wits. We have fallen for them, slain for them, venerated them, defiled them and certain times even have tried to imitate them.
And by imitation I don’t mean a member of LGBT or pansexual club trying to cross-dress, to display the psychological urge of being in shoes or falling in the category of the opposite sex. I literally mean the heterosexual male, the insignia of the macho.
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing has always been famous among the secret circles of different classes. Even being heterosexual, males have been known to adorn female attire for the amusement of being in the second skin of the opposite sex. The idea of imitation is more than enough for many to justify the act.
There is a lot of evidence of enforced cross-dressing in history and mythology, like the mythical Greek hero Hercules (yes, you read it right), being dressed up as a woman by Omphale, when he gets enslaved as a punishment for the murder of Iphitus, or the demigod and the destroyer of Troy, Achilles, being dressed as a girl by his mother to protect him.
Said that, there is a lot of evidence of self-imposed cross-dressing too. The mighty gods Thor and Odin of the Northern Europe have been known to cross-dress numerous times, as a female. Even in epic of Mahabharata, in the thirteenth year of exile (imposed upon the Pandavas), in which they had to keep their identities secret to avoid detection, Arjuna cross-dressed as Brihannala and became a dance teacher in the court of King Virat of the Matsya Kingdom.
Women also have had a part to play in eccentric world of cross-dressing, but mainly for the sole reason of being able to express them freely, in the world of virile dominance. Hua Mulan (There’s a Disney film based on this historical character), or the legend of Pope Joan, the disguised female pope, or even more famous Joan of Arc who joined French armies against the English and was later burnt alive on stake after a decision by the religious court, etc. are the few names of many, that come to my mind.
Cross-Dressing in Television and films.
Talking mainly about performance arts, because of the nature of the patriarchal society, women were never allowed (atleast legally) to act, write, dance or perform in public, so many men took that ‘burden’ on their stuffed corset ridden chests, literally, and started performing as women. The most ironical example would that be of William Shakespeare, as all of his plays in his lifetime ended up being performed by men, even while under the reign of a strong female leader like Elizabeth.
The result of non-availability of the female actors, led the male actors to enact the identities of women. A subtle spark of humour was generated, arisen from a sudden gender swap that no one had seen before in public. In early cinema, even Charlie Chaplin acted as woman in films, but in a time when low humour was acceptable, but then racial discrimination was too. Strangely, this subtle humour kept on dwelling, where it managed to be existent till now.
In the recent history, people seemed to have enjoyed films like Mrs. Doubtfire (or its Indian substitute, Chachi 420, worth mentioning as there was a reason for Mr. Hassan to disguise himself as a woman), but many enjoyed ones like Aunty no. 1 too, that started portraying cross-dressing as an act of burlesques-ish anecdotal humour. It soon transformed into a hyperbolic and a sophomoric type of humour, which we are very much familiar with today. We see that happening every day on our screens, and sadly most of us relish that content.
Most of the comedy that we see on Indian television or in cinema today is as-it-is slapstick and juvenile humour, but more than that, in the last 3-4 years, it seems to have found this new formula of cross-dressing as a humour generative tool. In the last decade, too many actors have suddenly started to don the female attire, in the name of comedy. As if a woman was not an instrument of objectification before.
Maybe I’m wrong on how the psychology is working here; maybe I’m a knobhead, who does not understand comedy at all. And maybe, it’s not about women at all. Maybe the humour could also have been generated, in accordance to the fact that we mostly are ignorant homophobics (of course due to lack of knowledge). And the ignorant people, wherever they are in the world and whatever topic it might be, tend to reduce what they don’t comprehend, to a mere act of bullish wit. We can’t really do anything about it, apart from waiting for an era when they hopefully shall have knowledge to change themselves.
What ever the reason for cross-dressing, when a prime time character comes on screen of a family rated television show, dressed up as a woman (unless is playing a character that defines the essence of him being transformed into a woman), slanders an identity of a woman’s character in general. For a moment, just think, when that character comes on and says something like ‘oh they are just oranges or tennis balls’, how does it effect the growing mind of a 6 year old sitting next to you on the couch?
Don’t you think that this could be one of the factors that would trigger a premature sexualisation and curiosity in the adolescents, when they see these oranges or tennis balls coming out of women’s blouses on prime time? Or simply the matter of respect for women in general, when they start believing that every grandmother or an aunt jumps around like an imbecile and steals from others? Or being over weight or dark as a woman is termed as ugly and only slim short-clothed white women are beautiful…
Forget about even that for a moment. We live in a country where lives could be endangered on the name of culture. What culture are we representing here? If we slay movies like Udta Punjab and P.K., which expose the hidden veracities, on the basis of ethnic degradation; then how can we allow women, who are the life givers of this human-verse, or their attire, to be sullied like this for a few pointers of ratings and money? Don’t you think that a 6 year old subconsciously understands the concept of objectification and doesn’t that scare you what the future could hold in that subconscious?
But well then, most of us are misogynists. We have always been. If we can compare the impact of being raped to a scuffling day in gym, and feel proud about ourselves, may be we are capable of doing a lot more.
Is it the Golden Era of cross-dressing in Indian Media?
I don’t know if this is the Golden era of Cross-dressing in Indian Television and film. But if it is, it’s a brilliant thing, as like any other golden eras, this shall pass soon too!
