Silent Norms, Loud Spaces:A Visual Reflection on Patriarchy and Public Life
Submitted by:
Maanya Singh
2333232
5BAPOLS
Submitted to:
Dr. Abhiruchi Ranjan
Department of International Studies, Political Science and History
7th July, 2025
Introduction:
Gender is not just found in textbooks or regulations; it is ingrained in everyday life. The way that
patriarchy and gendered expectations influence public and private venues, such as movie
theatres, ceremonial meetings, public transportation, and residential courtyards, is visually
explored in this photo-essay. Each picture illustrates how women are positioned inside larger
societal institutions that hardly ever acknowledge their labour or give them equal access to
leisure, mobility, or representation. These positions are frequently in supporting, background, or
service roles. These reflections, which draw from seminal feminist scholarship such as Laura
Mulvey's "male gaze" theory and Nancy Fraser's critique of care work, explore how gender
functions not only through institutions and laws but also through the seemingly ordinary routines
and spatial arrangements of daily life.
Image 1:
Women perform tradition, while men handle power and ritual—reinforcing gender roles.
This image shows a group of women singing traditional folk songs during what appears
to be a community or religious gathering. At first, the image exudes joy and cultural pride, but it
also reveals a heavily gendered division of tasks. Men perform duties considered more solemn or
sacred, such as leading rituals or handling logistics, while women are restricted to the emotional
and cultural upkeep of the community—singing, decorating, and making offerings.
This is consistent with the framework developed by Sylvia Walby in Theorising
Patriarchy (1990), in which she lists "patriarchal relations in cultural institutions" as one of the
six patriarchal locations (Walby, 1989). Although they are frequently honoured, women's roles in
folk traditions are structurally limited; they are visible but not influential. Although the custom is
still carried down via marriage, it hardly ever gives women the authority to make decisions, take
charge, or get recognition outside of the performance arena. This gendered cultural role is also
quite limited and localised. Despite being active participants, these women's efforts are
frequently seen as a "duty" rather than an expression of artistic authority. Only when their
involvement stays within the parameters of "feminine" expression—emotional, gentle,
devotional, and in line with social norms—is it honoured. It would be considered a breach of
societal norms for a woman to hold a prominent executive or clerical position in the same
context.
The image clearly shows how patriarchy prohibits women from leading and allows them
to do so in cultural ways. In the image, their power is diminished, but their voices are loud
throughout the room. It's a celebratory and traditional performance that reinforces the social
order of gendered boundaries rather than challenging them.
Image 2:
Women navigate public space, but mobility remains limited and gendered.
The ordinary scene depicted here—women riding a public bus—subtly conveys a calm
yet potent truth. For women, particularly those from lower-income or working-class origins,
public transport is one of the few reasonably priced ways to move around. However, this area is
also highly gendered. Though the camera's gaze reminds us that this mobility is both hard-earned
and precarious, women are shown here occupying seats, probably on their way to or from work.
Public places are not neutral, according to Nivedita Menon's argument in Seeing Like a
Feminist. They always invite attention, vulnerability, or even danger when a woman is around.
Buses become into contested spaces that are both powerful and revealing. Planning "safe" routes,
avoiding particular times of day, or putting up with silent harassment are all part of everyday
travel for many women. The act of even asserting one's seat is a negotiation against patriarchal
institutions (Menon, 2023).
Additionally, here is where gender and class collide. While working-class women must
rely on public infrastructure, which isn't often built with their safety in mind, urban upper-class
women frequently enjoy private transportation. Although "ladies' seats" or women's coaches on
buses and trains may seem like protective measures, they also serve to further the notion that
women should not be in mixed or public settings unless they are given special accommodations.
Therefore, this image is about gendered movement, labour, and agency rather than
merely transportation. It depicts the tenacity of women who navigate the city according to their
own rules, despite the layout of the area indicating otherwise.
Image 3:
Care work is feminized—done by mothers or maids, rarely by men.
This picture shows a woman, maybe a mother or a housekeeper, keeping an eye on small
children. It is a well-known home setting that says a lot about how caregiving has become more
feminine in India. The burden of caregiving nearly invariably falls on women, whether as a result
of paid labour or parental expectations.
Contemporary economies rely on a hidden infrastructure of care that is primarily supplied
by women and is frequently underpaid or unpaid (Fraser, 2016). This conflict is reflected in the
image. Despite the fact that raising children is essential to maintaining society, those who
perform this labour are rarely acknowledged, paid, or given much social standing.
Domestic workers, who are typically women from lower socioeconomic origins, perform
this task in many urban homes, particularly those belonging to the middle and higher classes.
The employer's family still expects traditional maternal outcomes even if they frequently assign
the emotional and physical burden of parenting to someone else. This transference, which
involves outsourcing a child's emotional needs—but only to another woman—has its roots in
both gender and socioeconomic hierarchy.It also says a lot that there are no male carers in these
scenes. Raising children is still seen by society as a purely feminine job, freeing males from the
daily caregiving duties. Men's participation is frequently presented as "helping," rather than
sharing equal responsibility.
Image 4:
Male creators dominate, mirroring unequal access to cultural space and leisure for women.
This picture displays a movie theatre wall covered in quotations and pictures of wellknown movie stars from around the world. The most obvious is the gender disparity: almost all
of the people highlighted are male performers or directors, with only a few female characters
standing out. The patriarchal structure of the film business is reinforced by this image, as women
are frequently limited to objectified on-screen appearances and men predominate in storytelling,
editing, and directing jobs.
This visual pattern is explained by Laura Mulvey's theory of the "male gaze" in Visual
Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. She describes how mainstream film uses a masculine
perspective to tell its stories, making women passive objects that are meant to be observed rather
than ignored (Laura Mulvey's "Male Gaze" Theory | Definition and Examples, n.d.). However,
the exclusion is not limited to the backstage area; it also affects the audience. Women are
frequently excluded from such recreational areas, particularly those from rural or economically
underprivileged backgrounds. Social conventions categorise cinema as a place for males, and
their domestic work takes precedence over their free time (Menon, 2023).
Image 5:
Women are visible in law, but power remains unequal.
This picture portrays a group of legal practitioners assembled outside of a civil court in
Ranchi, for World Environment Day. The three indicators of power - formal authority, collective
identity, and professional solidarity - are clearly evidenced here. Yet looking at it from a gender
perspective, it demonstrates the inequalities and limitations faced by women in the legal sector in
India.
Even if this is a clear group, women are less and have a subtle periphery, gathering to the
side or slightly behind their male colleagues and are still perceived as an example of progress in
a traditional male-dominated environment. This graphic pattern shows the multi-layered
exclusions women experience inside purportedly equal legal frameworks. Flavia Agnes contends
that in spite of constitutional protections, discriminatory professional cultures, unequal access,
and a lack of representation at decision-making levels all contribute to the formal and informal
gender bias that permeates the Indian legal system (Agnes, n.d.). She notes that while leadership
and high-profile cases are still primarily reserved for men, the legal profession frequently
marginalises women into supportive litigation or low-profile advocacy jobs. Even in progressive
legal settings, women often confront hidden barriers like tokenism, condescending mentorship,
or the strain of juggling demanding professional jobs with household duties—difficulties that
their male counterparts rarely encounter.
Thus, while the picture shows a legal fraternity participating in civic life, it also
symbolizes the need for more systemic change—not just more visibility for women, but their just
participation, esteem, and sponsorship by institutions. Agnes reminds us that without social
change, legislative reform is meaningless; real justice requires rethinking power as well as
granting access.
Conclusion:
Movie theaters, courtrooms, buses, backyards - gender is deeply entrenched in the fabric
of everyday places. These images, which may seem usual, reveal subtle and continuous ways
that patriarchy shapes accessibility, visibility, and roles in both private and public domains.
Women can often be visible, but not necessarily empowered; present, but rarely prioritized.
Whether it is the male gaze of cinema, the gendered responsibility of caregiving, or the career
interruptions for motherhood that women encountered in the law, each of these scenes provides
evidence of how systems of oppression continue to demarcate women’s expectations and what is
considered for men.
References
Agnes, F. (n.d.). Law and Gender Inequality. LAW AND GENDER INEQUALITY: The
Politics of Women's Rights (1999). By Flavia Agnes, Oxford University Press. Pp. xvii
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Fraser, N. (2016, August 1). Nancy Fraser, Contradictions of Capital and Care, NLR
100, July–August 2016. New Left Review. Retrieved July 7, 2025, from
https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii100/articles/nancy-fraser-contradictions-of-capital-andcare
Laura Mulvey's "Male Gaze" Theory | Definition and Examples. (n.d.). Media Studies.
Retrieved July 7, 2025, from https://media-studies.com/male-gaze/
Menon, N. (2023). Seeing Like A Feminist. Penguin Random House Audio Publishing
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Walby, S. (1989). Theorising Patriarchy. Sociology, 23.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42853921