Bend It Like Beckham: A Gender and Culture Analysis

Introduction: Women's Roles and Cultural Norms

Women's roles lie at the heart of many cultural norms, forming a defining aspect of their social experience. The football-themed film Bend It Like Beckham portrays an Indian girl, Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra, struggling to reconcile her passion for football with the expectations of her mother and other family members. She meets Jules (Juliette Paxton), who invites Jess to join the Hounslow Harriers, Jules' football team. Jess accepts, joining the team against her mother's wishes. Her situation at home becomes further complicated by the impending wedding of her sister — an event that places considerable stress on the entire family. Despite their cultural differences, Jules and Jess face a common situation at home: their mothers cannot understand or support their passion for football, a sport widely regarded as being for boys (Jamie Rees, 2012).

A Young Woman's Role in a Gender-Biased Society

Upon learning that Jess wishes to join the Hounslow Harriers, Mrs. Bhamra bluntly tells her she cannot, insisting there are other, more suitably Asian endeavors Jess must engage in (Gamal Abdel-Shehid & Nathan Kalman-Lamb, 2015). She tells her daughter she has played enough football and that she dislikes the idea of her "running around half-naked in front of men." She further argues that her daughter is unlikely to find a husband if she continues running around with a football all day instead of learning to "make round chapattis," and asserts her wish for Jess to quit football and learn to make a proper Punjabi dinner.

Gender is a central theme in the film. Traditionally, sports have largely been viewed as masculine activities, diametrically opposed to feminine qualities. However, Bend It Like Beckham rejects this view, instead asserting that women are more than capable of playing sports and that athletic participation is entirely appropriate for females.

Overcoming Traditional Boundaries

One scene that illustrates the challenges women face when crossing traditional boundaries occurs when Jess encounters peer confrontation while playing football. Early in the film, three South Asian males with whom Jess has been playing soccer begin mocking her and making crude comments after she is fouled. One asks whether she actually thinks she is Beckham; another asks if she can chest the ball like him; and the third urges her to do so. While their comments clearly attempt to reduce her to a sexual object and negate her skill, she appears unruffled — she kicks the ball squarely at one of the boys' groin, immediately making him the object of ridicule instead.

The next scene returns to her home, where she has been forced to leave the game early to help her mother with housework. This scene focuses on gender inequity: Jess remarks on the unfairness of the situation and how boys never have to help at home (Gamal Abdel-Shehid & Nathan Kalman-Lamb, 2015). Together, these scenes exemplify the film's depiction of women striving to be progressive in the face of both public sexism and domestic constraint.

Challenging and Underplaying Stereotypes

Viewers first encounter Jess fantasizing about being a member of the Manchester United team, having scored the winning goal. The scene then cuts to Jess in her bedroom, wearing a Manchester United shirt. Her room is nothing like that of a stereotypical teenage girl; it features football scarves and posters — icons traditionally associated with men. Jess appears unconcerned with her appearance and shows no interest in activities typically associated with adolescent girls, such as shopping, fashion, make-up, boys, or pop music.

When her mother finally forces her to learn to prepare a traditional Punjabi meal, Jess is seen playing keep-up with vegetables. It is only after she grows closer to her coach, Joe, that she begins to become conscious of her femininity, and her presentation shifts — as depicted in the scene set in Hamburg, where she is dressed like a typical girl for a party, her hair styled by Jules (KIRKUP, 2003). This gradual shift is handled naturally, without abandoning the character's core identity.

Conclusion: Women's Empowerment and the Limits of Multiculturalism

Progressive multiculturalism is not the film's only social theme; women's empowerment is equally central. Just as assimilationist concepts are integrated into the film's multiculturalism, some gender norms are reaffirmed while others are overturned. On the whole, the film rejects conventional femininity norms — such as the expectation to be heterosexual, domestic, and physically attractive to men. Unfortunately, however, this rejection is not achieved in a nuanced way. Instead, characters who most closely conform to traditional femininity are rendered the least credible in the film.

For instance, near the end of the film, at Pinky's wedding, Jess's sister asks her whether she doesn't want all of this, remarking that it is supposed to be the best day of one's life. Jess replies simply that she wants more. Meanwhile, Jess plays soccer in her kitchen, and Jules prefers a sports bra over the push-up one her mother recommends. The problematic dimension of this approach is that women who choose a life other than the stereotypical North American model — characterized by autonomy, an aversion to cooking, and loose family ties — are viewed in a reductive light. As they have been framed this way, viewers are not given the opportunity to understand the motivations behind these women's life choices. The prevailing impression is that they are foolish and backward (Gamal Abdel-Shehid & Nathan Kalman-Lamb, 2015).

References

Gamal Abdel-Shehid & Nathan Kalman-Lamb. (2015). Multiculturalism, gender and Bend it Like Beckham. Social Inclusion, 142–152.

Jamie Rees. (2012). Bend It Like Beckham and "bending" the rules. A Journal of Undergraduate Writing.

KIRKUP, M. (2003). Bend It Like Beckham. Film Education.

Marcella De Marco. (2006). Multiple portrayals of gender in cinematographic and audiovisual translation discourse. Audiovisual Translation Scenarios: Conference Proceedings.

Nunez, M.T., & Garcia, A.J. (2014). Analyzing and teaching diversity and gender with a case study. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 70–77.