The debate on the representation of women in media began decades ago but little has changed over the years. Many women are still stereotyped, depicted as side accessories, sex symbols and many are not even noticeable in the narrative of a story.
The comedy group All India Bakchod (AIB) found themselves accused of providing the same treatment on their video content on Wednesday when two comedians, Aayushi Jagad and Sumedh Natu, called out the group for poor representation of women in their comedy sketches. While acknowledging that AIB has some sketches that centre on strong women, they said they've failed to write stories about women as normal human beings.
They pointed out that in a recent video, the woman character could have been replaced with a table lamp without impacting the storyline.
AIB comedians are considered powerful for their liberal and creative approach towards many issues in India.
Jagad said that they applied the Bechdel test (a test that says a work of fiction should feature at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man) on AIB content and found only two videos passed -- AIB : If Apps Were People, If Apps Were People 2.
AIB acknowledged the criticism and said they will work towards more inclusive representation of women in their content. The group said, "We will actively work to fix this across our content, not just for the sake of social currency or likes, but because representation matters."
Some fantastic points in this video, and a privilege check if ever there was one. Thank you Aayushi and Sumedh for calling this out. All of us at AIB hear you, and we'll be better and work harder to create things that are more inclusive. https://t.co/nikELqzPYH
— All India Bakchod (@AllIndiaBakchod) February 21, 2018
Thanking the two comedians, AIB said their content is a work in progress. "Creating more inclusive content is a constant process of evolution, and we'll work much harder to tell stories that are representative of more," said the group.
