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Toxic Masculinity and the Construction of Punjabi Women in Music Videos

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Abstract

Toxic masculinity fosters the domination and devaluation of women, often resulting in overt violence. As Punjabi women within Punjab and in diaspora have moved into the digital space, so has the reproduction of their womanhood. This paper serves to look at one of the many complex overlapping and intersecting trends that contributes to these constructions; Punjabi music videos. The author looked at the top 20 most viewed Punjabi music videos on YouTube in 2017 and coded for the gender of the producers and singers, as well as coding for themes in the final product. Major themes included that women were powerless, were objects to be acquired, were in need of saving, and were unable to consent. As an alternative to these toxic representations, the author suggests that the political potential of the multitude can be used to imagine digital spaces as sites of resistance where women reclaim telling their stories.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Punjabi Music and Toxic Masculinity, Humber College, Etobicoke, ON, Canada

    Jaspreet Bal

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  1. Jaspreet Bal
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Correspondence to Jaspreet Bal.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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There were no humans in this study, just publically available YouTube videos, this no informed consent forms were used.

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Appendix A: Full List of Videos Analyzed

Appendix A: Full List of Videos Analyzed

Aulakh, M. [Speed Records]. (2016, Nov 17). Kadar. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgrJ4k5FtE.

Dharia, P. [White Hill Music]. (2017, Feb 20). Na ja. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-GOFPM01d0.

Dhami, J. [Jaz Dhami]. (2012, Sept 5). High heels. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkgad9gngOQ.

Dosanjh, D. [Speed Records]. (2014, Nov 17). Patiala peg. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9-dsTC_0U.

Dosanjh, D. [Speed Records]. (2015, Dec 18). 5 taara. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsTW5cyWKj4.

Dosanjh, D. [Speed Records]. (2016, Dec 20). Laembadgini. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=15Sjjl_24x0.

Gill, J. [Speed Records]. (2014, Oct 14). Bapu zimidar. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOYR3k1VhUQ.

Inder, N. [Times Music]. (2015, Sept 8). Wakhra swag [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMdH_G4N9nY.

Mann, S. [T-Series Apna Punjab]. (2016, Dec 17) 3 peg [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzTg4zPBtDU.

Mehndi, D. [Soni Music India VEVO]. (2014, March 21). Tunak tunak [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTIIMJ9tUc8.

Pasreja, A. [Crown Records]. (2016, Feb 13). Khaab [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBuLUidR9r0.

Randhawa, G. [T-Series]. (2015, April 2). Patola [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btxXHe2E4CQ.

Randhawa, G. [T-Series]. (2016, Jun 24). Suit [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ763VvqiEM.

Sandhu, H. [T-Series]. (2016, Apr 12). Hornn blow [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=IssysxAisfo.

Sandhu, H. [T-Series]. (2017, Jan5). Backbone [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqGtrvcR5ls.

Singh S. [T-Series]. (2015, OCT 10). All black [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReXw6TOnUOc.

Singh S. [T-Series]. (2016, Sept 9). Suicide [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=9p7TiGx7b-4.

Sisodia, A. P. S. [Soni Music India]. (2017, Apr 1). Mercy [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Jyst8oIHOAY.

Star, J. [J STAR Productions]. (2015, Feb 18). Na nan a na [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBuLUidR9r0.

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Bal, J. Toxic Masculinity and the Construction of Punjabi Women in Music Videos. Gend. Issues 38, 200–209 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-020-09264-1

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