Mass Media and the Reconfiguration of Gender Identities: The Bharatiya Nari in the United States

Abstract

This article examines the role of US and Indian mass media in maintaining and/or refuting the Bharatiya Nari (Indian Woman) stereotype for middle-class immigrant Indian women in the US. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 middle-class Indian women who immigrated to the Detroit metropolitan area as wives after 1990, and had at least a Bachelor’s degree. Findings suggest that even though the Bharatiya Nari is alive and well in the American Midwest, these women are also able to utilize the multi-dimensionality of images available to them to rethink their own roles and behavior. The role of mass media is undeniable, as private, electronic, and ethnic spaces merge to support the existence of the Indian-American Bharatiya Nari and her complex set of identities and family-centric prioritizations. As suggested by theory, middle-class immigrant Indian women support a bi-cultural identity, and the presence of the US and Indian mass media reiterates the need for this bi-culturalism. However, the manifestation of this bi-culturalism is different for each woman.