Item Songs have recently become established as new genre of songs in the mainstream Indian Cinema, although they have remained a part of Bollywood movies since at least the 1970s. Such songs, despite their widespread appeal to masses, have often been panned by Film critics (particularly from the Radical Feminist School) for their erotic dances, and an overly glamorized and sexualized depiction of half-nude female bodies. Based upon the textual analysis of two popular item songs in recent Indian cinema, Sheila ki Jawani from Tees Maar Khan (2010) and Munni Badnam Hui from Dabangg (2010), this paper seeks to problematize such readings which focus exclusively on the issue of the objectification of women through the concept of the male gaze . Drawing upon more recent studies in Psychoanalytic Feminist Scholarship, the paper departs from this conventional understanding. It argues that such item songs can also be interpreted as a means of liberation for women, and as devices for reclaiming the narrative on female sexuality, and a woman’s right to her body. More broadly, using Judith Butler’s concept of Gender Performativity in the Feminist Phenomenological tradition, the paper argues that items songs can be construed as performative acts that subvert the male gaze and viewed as constitutive of new feminine subjectivities in the contemporary Indian society.

中文翻译：

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回收主体性：对当代印度电影中的项目歌曲的精神分析-女权主义视角

Item Songs 最近已成为主流印度电影中的新歌曲类型，尽管至少自 1970 年代以来它们一直是宝莱坞电影的一部分。尽管这些歌曲对大众有着广泛的吸引力，但它们的色情舞蹈以及对半裸女性身体的过度美化和性感化描绘经常被电影评论家（特别是激进女权主义学校的评论家）批评。基于对近期印度电影中两首流行歌曲的文本分析，来自 Tees Maar Khan (2010) 的 Sheila ki Jawani 和来自 Dabangg (2010) 的 Munni Badnam Hui，本文试图对此类阅读问题进行问题化，这些阅读仅关注于通过男性凝视的概念将女性物化。借鉴精神分析女权主义奖学金的最新研究，该论文背离了这一传统理解。它认为，此类项目歌曲也可以被解释为女性解放的一种手段，是重新讲述女性性行为和女性对自己身体的权利的手段。更广泛地说，使用朱迪思·巴特勒 (Judith Butler) 的女性主义现象学传统中的性别表演概念，该论文认为，物品歌曲可以被解释为颠覆男性凝视的表演行为，并被视为当代印度社会新女性主体性的组成部分。