Dr Vijay Kumar & Dr Jyoti Ranjan Sahoo lead a diverse range of scholars in interrogating the narratives around women and LGBTQIA+ identities in traditional and digital media
OdishaPlus Bureau
In a media-drenched age, representation is recognition. When marginalized communities are unheard or misrepresented, the consequences can be vast. Media and Marginalized Voices: Women and LGBTQIA+ Community, a compelling edited book by V. Vijay Kumar and Jyoti Ranjan Sahoo of XIM University, Odisha, India, boldly addresses this gap by amplifying the underrepresented narratives of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals in media landscapes across South Asia and beyond. Published by Peter Lang Academic Publishers in 2025, it is both a scholarly contribution and a clarion call to cultural awareness.
The book consists of eleven chapters and is divided into two broad sections: Women, Media, and Discourse, and LGBTQIA+ Community and Media Representation. It addresses digital media, mainstream cinema, streaming media, journalism, and social media. It presents a critical examination of how identity, gender, and sexual orientation are constructed, contested, and reaffirmed in public discourse.
Finding the Edges
The editors’ introduction chapter examines closely how women and LGBTQIA+ have been marginalized historically and in recent times, particularly in Tamil cinema. They examine significant films such as Irudhi Suttru (transl: The Final Round, 2016), Aramm (transl: Good Deed, 2017), Kanaa (transl: To Dream, 2018), and Super Deluxe (2019). The editors illustrate the way traditional notions of male dominance and straight norms continue to dominate most narratives. But they give examples of resistance and change that give hope for inclusive narratives. The opening is unique in the sense that it is based on concepts such as the male gaze, voyeurism, and identity formation, and a subtle awareness of regional cinema. In this way, the editors set the tone for an academic but firmly culture-based analysis book.
The volume closes with a comprehensive call for gender-sensitive storytelling that dismantles stereotypes and creates room for nuanced, multidimensional identities. The editors reiterate that inclusive media representation is not just a matter of visibility but of cultural legitimacy.
A Timely and Transformational Contribution
What is significant about Media and Marginalized Voices: Women and LGBTQIA+ Community is that it approaches intersectionality. It does not address gender independently of caste, region, religion, or class. It brings them together to show how the media portrays and creates social realities. The book is well-researched and easy to understand. Each chapter includes real-life examples, which make the concepts easy for ordinary readers to follow. Including facts, experiences, and important theories, the book is still informative and makes you think.
The foreword by Sundeep R. Muppidi from the University of Hartford, USA, a distinguished media scholar and global DEIJB advocate, aptly situates the book in the broader landscape of communication for social change. He calls it “a much-needed volume” and rightly so.
If the world is to truly embrace diversity, it must begin by listening to those it has historically silenced. This volume ensures that such voices are not just heard but celebrated.
Final Thoughts
Media and Marginalized Voices: Women and LGBTQIA+ Community is not just a book; it is a manifesto. It calls on media professionals, educators, policymakers, and the public to reimagine how we see—and, more importantly, how we hear—the voices long pushed to the margins. In an era increasingly defined by polarisation and digital echo chambers, the book offers a roadmap for media that is inclusive, empathetic, and socially just.
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Published by Peter Lang Academic Publishers, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-80374-757-6 |
