Have you seen these headlines?
‘Angelina Jolie hides figure in black baggy sack dress as she visits Syrian refugees’ or ‘Alia Bhatt’s pregnancy glow lights up Darlings trailer launch’.
These are both real headlines and also a glimpse into how sexist and invasive ‘clickbait’ headlines can be.
Let’s talk about the latter. Alia Bhatt, a successful actor (and now also a producer) was at the trailer launch for Darlings, her first production venture in which she also plays the lead role. She even went to London to shoot for her Hollywood debut Heart of Stone with the likes of Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan.
However, a lot of coverage surrounding Alia recently has been about her ‘pregnancy glow’ and ‘baby bump’. Her marriage and pregnancy are surely important milestones for some but it’s reductive that those overshadow the strides she’s making in her career.
In the first instance, Angelina Jolie, who by the time the article was published (in 2016) had won an Academy Award and multiple SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and Golden Globe awards and had been nominated for more than one Emmy and BAFTA awards. Not only that, she was visiting Syria as the special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
And yet, she couldn’t escape the headline and even the starting of the article being about her clothes and her ‘slim figure’.
This isn’t just about Alia and Angelina; the way the media covers matters concerning female actors has been regressive for years.
Even with regards to Alia's Hollywood debut, the actor had called out a publication for reporting that her husband, actor Ranbir Kapoor would 'pick her up' from London (where she was shooting).
"No one needs to PICK anyone up. I am a woman not a parcel!!!!! I do not need to REST at all but good to know you'll have a doctor's certification as well :) This is 2022. Can we pls get out of this archaic way of thinking! Now if you would excuse me..my shot is ready."Alia Bhatt
News involving female actors (all women actually) is disproportionately oriented towards their clothes, their family, their partners, or commentary on their body. Words like ‘hot’ and ‘sizzling’ and ‘bold’ often make it to headlines.
For the longest time, people have been trying to tackle the patriarchal idea of a woman’s identity revolving around her family, kids, and physical appearance. But, this attitude isn’t limited to news headlines and tabloid covers; almost all media uses this template.
After the third episode of Koffee With Karan season 7, Samantha Ruth Prabhu was appreciated online for the way she handled the questions posed to her during the show. In the same breath, many also criticised the nature of said questions.
It started with Karan Johar’s ‘slip of tongue’ moment when he called Samantha’s ex-husband, her husband (she promptly corrected him). He then continued to ask her questions about her divorce and her marriage even though the actor was seemingly invited on the show because she ranked no. 1 in a survey for pan-Indian actors.
Four-time Filmfare Awards South winner Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who also gave a stellar performance in her OTT debut The Family Man, and actor Akshay Kumar both called out Johar for asking ‘intrusive’ questions.
After Samantha had announced her separation with Naga Chaitanya, she was heavily trolled; from accusations of having an affair to slut shaming, she saw it all.
And while she doesn't owe an explanation to anyone, the actor's answers on the show (or otherwise) have gone a long way in tackling the stigma associated with divorce, especially for women.
Intrusive questions aren’t a Koffee With Karan exclusive since several reporters have often asked women offensive questions: from asking Vidya Balan if she's going to 'lose weight for glamorous roles' to saying Ranveer Singh is ‘technically’ a producer on Chhapak since “ghar ke paise lage hai”.
Clickbaits are popular because they work but like everything else, getting people to click on work is a skill. Relying on sexist tropes and offensive tactics to do that isn’t. All the content people consume has the ability to shape the way they think and yet, in 2022, content is still obsessed with necklines, hemlines, and worse.
As women continue to work harder to deal with discrimination and the ever pervasive glass ceiling, the act of talking about their achievements with basic decency and respect is the bare minimum.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)