Alpha Females : Breaking Old School Stereotypes

Who doesn't have at least one television at home these days? The answer is obvious. Whether we watch it a lot or a little, television is still present in our homes and for better or worse everyone, at least once a day, has to deal with it. Indeed, it is also, and above all, through television that stereotypes have spread, taking root deeply, influencing both gender.

In television, women are reduced to objects, almost without exception. The vulgar portrayal consolidates old clichés and makes the position of women in society more difficult.

It is an interesting journey and there is no risk of getting bored. It winds through stereotypes and cliches and nothing is enough to not fall into it. There is the housewife, the mother, the naive girl, the girl next door, the intellectual, the vamp, the femme fatale, the evil sister. And also the mother-in-law, the old maid, the hysterical, the gossip girl, the happy girl, the nerd. But that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. 

Here are some of the most used cliches used in television!

• The female lead is pure, naive and so innocent that she doesn't even know what is right or wrong. Everyone (family included) will take advantage of her. [Imlie season 2]
• The heroine will always be in traditional clothes. Otherwise she is the villain. [Lakshmi & Malishka from Bhagya Lakshmi]
• Her family is poor and in need of money, which leads most of time to blackmail and wedding with the male lead who is super rich. [Khushi from IPKKND]
• Whenever the heroine trips and falls, she always lands magically in the hero's arms and they will look at each other in the same awkward position till the next episode. [Anvi from Naamkaran]
• The typical ‘bahu’ ( and other ladies) will wander in the house looking all beautiful and even go to sleep wearing loads of make up and with nearly 8kg of jewellery on. [Gopi Bahu from SNS]
• Their professional role is short lived or brought up only in case of money problem. Lack of ambitious working women in TV shows successfully create and reinforce misleading images of female in real society. [Priya from BALH2]
  

Between stereotypes and clichés, used and abused, there is no doubt in saying that, if the female characters were as it is depicted in tv, the world would be an even stranger place than it is.

Check out in the next post some female characters who can be hailed as alpha female.

Sure there are cliches and the same reused characters over and over again. Flowerpot doctor, flowerpot architect, flowerpot social activist...but every once in a while we get a character that is a breathe of fresh air. Today, let's celebrate 4 such strong women characters.

Shashi from English Vinglish

Having spent her entire life as a homemaker, Shashi represents a vast majority of our women. They are often overlooked by their husbands, mistreated by their children, and expected to take everything lying down. To add insult to injury, Shashi didn't know English well, which added to her husband's and kids' embarrassment. After facing a tough few days in New York City, Shashi takes matters into her own hands and enrols in English classes, slowly gaining the confidence and self-respect that she had lost over the years of marriage. Shashi's biggest quality was that she never held her family in contempt for the way they treated her, forgiving and forgetting everything by the end.

Silk from The Dirty Picture

Many women face trouble accepting themselves and their bodies, but that was never the case for Silk Smitha. Reshma, later christened Silk, always had big dreams. The day before her marriage, she ran off to Madras to pursue her big dreams. After facing rejection and an indecent proposal, Reshma decides to go back home, only to find that she has been accepted in a movie for her erotic dance moves and becomes famous for it. She is rechristened as Silk and goes onto become a big name in the movie industry with many men wrapped around her finger. Silk represents a woman who is sure of herself, confident of what she wants, and has no qualms or shames about her body or her desires. She loves the limelight and is happy to have men running after her.

Rani from Queen

Like most girls are taught from a young age, Rani made marriage and caring for her to-be husband Vijay her dream. All she wanted was for Vijay to be happy and to see the world through his eyes...until he decided that she wasn't good enough for him, that too on the day before their marriage. Deciding that she needed to find herself, Rani decides to go on her honeymoon alone. From a meek, shy girl lost and alone in Paris, Rani blossoms into a confident, happy-go-lucky, free spirit who is no longer tied down by the dictates of Vijay (or society). She lives in a hostel with 3 boys, wears revealing clothes (something previously denied to her), travels alone, visits nightclubs, fights off a mugger, and takes part in a cooking competition after realizing her earning potential. She learns more about different parts of the world through her friends and then stands up to Vijay, choosing her friends over him. Ultimately, Rani makes the right choice, dropping the conservative Vijay for her free thinking spirit. Rani showed us that we don't need anybody to live our life, we just need to be confident in our abilities and happy with our lives.

Vidya from Kahaani

When we talk about strong female characters, how can we forget Vidya? A software engineer, by profession, a pregnant Vidya comes to India to find her missing husband....or so it seems. Vidya uses her portrayal of a pregnant damsel-in-distress to her utmost advantage. This leads Satyaki "Rana" Sinha to help her to the detriment of his job and duties. Vidya continues her charade and "accidentally" shoots a man to death. Her charade is finally revealed when she comes face-to-face with the man she claims is her husband, a man revealed to be her husband's (along with hundreds of others) killer. Vidya ruthlessly kills the man and goes back to her home where it is revealed that she is the widow of a Major and did everything out of revenge for her husband's and unborn child's death. Vidya showed us that women are not just damsels-in-distress, but rather tigresses. We are as ruthless as men, but with a brain - we let men think that they are in control until the time is right.

TV is the biggest proponent of the cliched woman, but every once in a while, we get a woman who is different than the norm. Here's celebrating a few of these women!

Maya from Sarabhai vs Sarabhai

Being sure of yourself is good, but being sure of what you want to say to others is awesome. And Maya Sarabhai represents that awesomeness. Always one to speak her mind in a polite but sarcastic tone, Maya worked hard to ensure that her family upheld the image that she worked so hard to develop. But don't be worried. Maya Sarabhai is not always the typical high-society saas. She has a fierce personality that comes to the forefront when her family is in trouble, even Monisha. Maya Sarabhai shows us that women can be the perfect epitome of a mother, wife, and saas, but still have their own image and personality. No one ever refers to Maya Sarabhai as Indravadhan's wife, Dr. Sahil's mother, or Monisha's saas. No she is Maya Sarabhai, and the others are known by her name instead. Remember when she was pregnant but didn't want to leave her social work? Her husband, Indravadhan, stayed home with the kids while she continued working. This represents Maya Sarabhai - a woman who loves her family, but wasn't willing to let go of her own individuality at the same time.

Chandramukhi Chautala from FIR

Female cops on Indian TV are a rarity, but strong female cops are an even big rarity. Chandramukhi Chautala, or CC for short, was one such rare character. Chandramukhi was a sub-inspector in Imaan Chowki, Rawanpur, who treated each case with respect and care, always digging to the bottom before either arresting a criminal or teaching someone a lesson. In between the case, she dealt with the antics of 3 well-meaning constables, Gopi, Billu, and Gulgule. Chandramukhi showed us that even in the toughest of situations, she could handle herself. Whether it was an attempt on her life or a ploy to malign her image, Chandramukhi always shone and was never able to be taken down.

Vartika from Delhi Crime

Netflix brought us DCP Vartika Chaturvedi, a family woman and a fearless IPS officer in Delhi. First brought to us as a way of reminding us of the infamous Nirbhaya case, DCP Vartika quickly won everyone's heart with her no-nonsense attitude, her candour, her emotional outbursts, and her pursuit to keep everyone in Delhi safe, including her own family. From sheltering her daughter from the realities of the case to uncharacteristically almost beating a suspect, Vartika proved to us that women on TV can be flawed as well. Vartika also showed us that she isn't just a checkbox for IPS to prove they have women in high positions, but rather that she is deserving of that role with her leadership skills, her ability to get into the midst of the action, and her ability to relate with the victims and their families.

Aarya from Aarya

Making an outstanding debut in the webspace, Sushmita Sen's Aarya proved to us that a woman can be a caring mother and a loving wife, but when push comes to shove, she can become a mafia queen as well. Aarya's life was thrown into a lurch when her husband, Tej Sareen, was killed and the truth behind his illegal businesses came out in the open. Aarya had 2 options: fight or flight. Choosing the former, Aarya quickly molded into a ruthless mafia queen who kept her children safe, but destroyed those who killed her husband, before turning it all over to the police and walking out. Even when the going got tough, Aarya refused to bend, only allowing emotions and weakness to overcome her when she was alone. Aarya proved once and for all that men may have the brawns, but women have the brains, using her smarts to manipulate situations into her favour and turning her enemies against each other while watching the show from afar.

Indian entertainment continues to hand women the short straw when it comes to characterizations, strength, resolve, brains, and focus, but every once in a while we get characters that remind you that women are not the demure, sweet, perfect bahus that men envision. We are tough, confident, resolved, intelligent, and boss ladies who can run the world better than anyone. Here's a cheers to those brilliant women and we, at Crazy Creatives, can only hope that slowly Indian entertainment will come to a point where such women are the norm.

oye_nakhrewaali | la_Reine | Yuvika_15

I quite liked shashi's character in the movie. I hated how they showed because she didn't know/speak English she wasn't respected enough by her own child and husband. Well mainly child. I don't think the husband had an issue with her lack of English speaking skills. 

But the question is why do we judge someone's ability based on their language skills... who cares if they know English or not...

Shashi made good friends in her English class... the poor guy left heartbroken but I loved how they spoke to one another in their native languages knowing quite clearly the other didn't understand but would know and understand based on their feelings. You don't need words to express feelings and emotions and these two characters proved that in the final scene. 

I have one—- Jassi from Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin🤗

Jassi fought through her inner struggles with her intelligence. She Always gave befitting replies to people who tried to put her down. She made everyone love her for who she was with her generosity and intelligence. She embraced the way she was…

Yrf shows will fit into this thread 

Mahi way - overweight girl breaking down, trying to change her body issues but end of the day accepted herself as she was 

Khotey sikkey /seven - multi cast shows with females holding their own against male counterparts. 

Wow! Amazing thread on Alpha female characters 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I loved Rani from queen.

And the others are also memorable.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I loved Rani from Queen and Shashi from EnglishVinglish. 

I loved Jassi Jaisi koi Nahin where a woman is stereotyped as not smart enough  based on appearance

Briliant thread 😍

Two more alpha females I loved onscreen, Gangubai from Gangubai Kathiawadi, who learned to live life on her own terms despite the circumstances, and Meera from NH10 who also reminds one of the quote "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".

So happy to see Maya Sarabhai there. She walked so that ITV leads could run, but audience's love for ever crying FLs and writers' sadism never allowed that to happen anymore😪

Two more I want to add😅

Bulbull

This movie doesn't get enough credit. Except for its red filter, it is beautiful 😭 A victim of domestic and sexual abuse, she stepped up to do the job the men in her house failed to be. Be a thakurain. She was fair and at the same time brutal. She protected the women in her village and avenged them. For the first time, I actually don't mind comparing a character to goddess Durga, because thats how they wrote her, a kind mother to all, but a lethal killer to the evil.

Rani

This show needs more watchers. Huma Qureshi is AMAZING. Rani's journey from a self doubting woman whose world revolved around her family to a courageous politician who was looking out for her people and only doing her job is beautiful. Best seen when her PA who scoffed at her when she couldn't even sign to wanting to work with her or resign, she showed determination and how the need to do the right thing can make you strong enough to stand up against your own

Not actually alpha, but one of the most savage moments in Indian Webshow

Renu: She slaps her husband when he slaps her. The adrenaline of watching Hatiram confronting his child's bullies has event left your brain when whack, she gives it to him and reminds him that she wont take it lying down! (I can literally hear the slap as I type this😅)