DIGITAL FEMINISM AND SOFTNESS AS RESILIENCE: A MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF GENDERED COPING MECHANISMS IN GREEN TV’S WORKING WOMEN

Abstract

Working Woman on Green TV is a Pakistani series in which six women protagonists navigate the hostilities of the society to exercise their agency using different mediums including social media and employment. This Pakistani television series Working Women portrays six different women characters and their struggle for independence in a society that is patriarchal in nature. Although the characters come from different cultures and social backgrounds, the series portrays women’s lives in a common hostel; from their struggles to the hostilities, they face and how ultimately, they triumph as they try to gain agency over their lives. This research focuses on Working Women applying Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) with special attention to Digital Feminism by Kaitlynn Mendes, Jessica Ringrose, and Jessalynn Keller and Soft Femme Theory by Andi Schwartz. SF-MDA is used to analyse the series’ visuals, language, and sound to investigate how these elements work together to tell stories of defiance and fortitude.

Based on Digital Feminism, the study investigates collective sympathy, soft defiance, freedom, and other tenets of modern feminism present in the framework of the drama. Soft Femme Theory complements this study through focusing on feminine traits as visual aesthetics instead of images which offer subversion towards societal constraints. This analysis shows how far-reaching the critique of dominant patriarchal structures goes while celebrating women reproductive roles as well as individual identities therefore locating femininity juxtaposed as a site of conflict and empowerment. Under the purview of Digital Feminism, Working Women reaffirms the transformative potential of media in redefining gendered narratives in South Asia.