Item songs & female objectification

In the past few months there have been alot of news reports on how some women have been at the receiving end of verbal abuse/eve teasing etc because of songs such as 'Munni' and 'Sheila Ki Jawani'. Im sure they are not the only songs for some men to use them as an excuse to tease women, but i think those are the two recent ones.

Do you think 'item songs' in bollywood films encourage female objectification and eve teasing?

Should film-makers and those working in bollywood be more careful in the type of item songs that they produce and act in? Since potentially they may play a part in not just eve teasing, but also how young girls view themselves and model themselves?

Or is it just all harmless fun and upto the parents in how they bring up their children?

They used to!

Bolly world is still a haven of chauvinists

but lately there has been a rise in ItemBoys

Well, I live in a Western culture where there is an over-saturation of songs like these...They are mostly degrading to women, true, but you cannot just blame a song for assaults on women. There's something wrong with the way of thinking if a bunch of guys think it's okay to assault/harass a girl who's alone on the street. Not to mention, how cowardly it is to do so.

As for body image and young girls, these songs DEFINITELY play a role in how girls view themselves. I'm not going to go straight-up moral police here, but I feel that if a girl has a sense of self-respect and confidence in herself, then she doesn't see the need to pop out her boobs at guys or even have a need to have a guy just because these songs are preaching so. I like my share of Sheila and Munni songs but I'm also pretty chill with my views and in the way I dress and act (no boob show here during study sessions😆)

But a lot of girls fall prey to this because that is what these songs are telling them to. Adult women can at least think for themselves, but teenagers and adolescent girls are impulsive with things like this. But I don't think it's Bollywood's responsibility as it is the parents to ensure that their children can make wise choices😊

That's a really good question.

There is no justification for any assault ever, it is always the attacker's fault and it is a matter of power and control, not about how the girl dresses or about how raunchy a song is.

I think the songs of Maduri and the likes of Seridevi in the past had sexuality in it too! What was dhak dhak of Maduri song. She was popping her boobs in the song even more than Katrina in Shelia ki jawani.

Originally posted by: beboholic

I think the songs of Maduri and the likes of Seridevi in the past had sexuality in it too! What was dhak dhak of Maduri song. She was popping her boobs in the song even more than Katrina in Shelia ki jawani.

Originally posted by: eraser

There is no justification for any assault ever, it is always the attacker's fault and it is a matter of power and control, not about how the girl dresses or about how raunchy a song is.

Are these item numbers objectifying women? Hell yeah. All people wanna see is boobs and booty; item numbers are considered the highlight of the movie.

Using women's bodies to sell their movies is nothing but disrespectful and cheap.

This all comes down to what the director and producer want to show and Market. Item songs are a big seller and are played everywhere. However, munni and Sheila were only released last year yet the teasing of women came long before that and wpuld have continued even without these songs.

The White sari raining sequences have all expressed the sexuality which is a big selling point for b'wood films.
The objectification of women is a serious issue that nobody wants to address lest they are considered a feminist who hates men. I don't hate men I just don't want to be considered somebody's object and seen just because of the size of my assets. All songs western or eastern are showing this
More and more now. From beyonce to madhuri they all have done it. Madhuris song in Anjaam also contained sexual overtures with the "hui chori Chaney Ke khet main" and these songs came from as early as Bobby.

Munni and Sheila are not the cause of but the product of female objectification.