‘Kangana’s diatribes harm women’s cause’

Activists are disturbed by her use of language fraught with gender violence

Many fighting for women’s rights are upset at Kangana Ranaut, who compared the demolition of her office to rape, and described a fellow actor on the other side of the political fence a ‘soft porn actress’.

“When the word, rape, is taken out of context, it leads to dilution of the seriousness of the crime. This feeds into the larger narrative of rape culture: a toxic discourse that normalises rape,” says Sahana Sarkar, Sessional Academic at the Queensland University of technology and an expert in cyber violence.

Anirudh G, diversity and inclusion consultant, says it also trivialises the trauma and the struggle of rape survivors.

“What happened to her may have been traumatic, but it was not rape. Rape is not a metaphor,” they say.

Feminists have been working for decades to get problems like “rape” taken seriously and using the word to reference other crimes severely harms that effort.

Rape victim actvist, Yogita Bhayana pointed the same out to Kangana on Twitter. The actor’s defence -- “medieval age feminists” like the activist think that rape is only in the “vagina”. She says that “some women identify more with their brains and consciousness”.

“Rape is a range of non-consensual sexual acts, according to Section 375 of the IPC. It is not something that can describe anything but sexual violence and to do so is to dishnour surviviors,” Sahana firmly states.

On the matter of Kangana calling Urmila Matondkar a soft porn actress, Sahana says, “From time immemorial, we have ascribed so much value and shame to women’s bodies and conduct that it’s easy to target them with such invectives. It is a tactic to digress from a rational argument by creating an unsafe space for women.”

Gender-based vitriol thrives online because it is easy to get away, she observes.

Anirudh adds such descriptions rob women of a dignity that comes with financial capacity and independence. “It creates a moralistic hierarchy between different forms of labourers, in that someone who sells their body fully clothed for people to watch is somehow morally superior to someone who sells their body without clothes on for people to watch. It tells people that actresses who perform a particular kind of role are immoral, and exploitable,” they explain.

Kangana's image

Sanskari is a term used for women and the values attached to it are patriarchal, and relate to how a woman is supposed to be, act or dress, Sahana says. Anirudh adds that people need to stop censoring language based on classist terminologies.

“What she says is problematic because it affects the dignity of already marginalised and vulnerable communities, not because it is ‘crude’,” they explain.

A feminist icon?

Some hail her as a feminist icon for being such an outspoken woman. But is that all feminism is about? “She is a vocal woman who is using social media to amplify her voice. There is nothing wrong with that and it is a way to reclaim space for women,” Sahana says.In the same breath, she adds that any use of this space to further discourses that are violent should be called out.