Real Life Superheroes: India's social media campaign to break gender stereotypes

The idea of our Facebook pages is to reclaim the narrative, says co-founder

A new social media campaign has surfaced on the internet to battle gender stereotypes and generalisations through the usage of memes on Facebook.

The campaign titled, "Real Life Superheroes" is run by the Facebook pages Social Justice Superheroes and Spoilt Modern Indian Woman, both of which are owned by Indian women and aim to spread awareness and knowledge about gender and human rights. The campaign invites regular women to participate by sending in pictures which will be used as memes.



PHOTO: The Spoilt Modern Indian Woman, Facebook

PHOTO: The Spoilt Modern Indian Woman, Facebook

Each picture features a statement which starts off in a cliched monotonous tone but ends with a message and a twist that breaks the stereotype. “The idea of our Facebook pages is to reclaim the narrative. We aim to break stereotypes through actual people and their real stories of empowerment — one meme at a time,” co-founder of Spoilt Modern Indian Woman who speaks through the pseudonym Bruce Vain told Hindustan Times.

PHOTO: The Spoilt Modern Indian Woman, Facebook

PHOTO: The Spoilt Modern Indian Woman, Facebook

PHOTO: The Spoilt Modern Indian Woman, Facebook

The owners of the Facebook pages also stated that they are considering turning this into a full-time project with a line of stereotype-breaking merchandise which will be produced from upcycled material. They will also work towards providing entrepreneurial opportunities for marginalised women.



PHOTO: The Spoilt Modern Indian Woman, Facebook

Even men reached out to participate in this social media campaign to battle gender stereotypes!