I sometimes slap myself (or my thumb) in annoyance for opening Instagram’s Reels section. I try my best to not open it, but still end up there. One of the main reasons for my resentment with the new Reels culture is the crude display of privilege and the mono-cultural world of the so-called upper castes or Savarnas. Be it someone playing an out-of-tune ukulele in mood lighting, or showing off their ‘struggles’ of not being able to visit Goa this year with some trending song playing in the background. What all these diverse videos have in common are hyper-perfect Savarna aesthetics.
In 2020, Chinese app TikTok was banned by the Narendra Modi government. This rendered many creators and influencers from marginalised backgrounds digitally homeless. These ‘digital refugees’ have since been trying to find refuge in different apps. During this time, Instagram Reels has emerged as one of the biggest platforms that promise fame and reach.
From celebrities to common people, everyone wants to try their luck on Reels to become successful, or as Andy Warhol apparently said, “get their 15 minutes of fame”. However, after many years social media, the influencer market has become a very important source of employment. For many, social media fame can even earn them their livelihoods. Sadly, this domain, like any other economic domain, is also the stronghold of Savarnas.
Also read: ‘We’re devastated, my wives cried’ — TikTok stars in Maharashtra village crushed by app ban
Casteism of Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels are designed in such a way that you feel like you’re entering an expensive restaurant where you can be judged and mocked for your clothes, accent, and your pronunciation. There is a very subtle and sophisticated form of casteism that plays out in this digital corner.
Instagram Reels seems to have an algorithm that prefers particular Savarna aesthetics. Most of the trends and trending songs are copies of what’s popular in the West. Be it “Put your head on my shoulders (Silhouette challenge)” or the “My back is aching song” challenge. All one sees are Savarnas expressing the joy and melancholy of living a life full of privileges. Instagram actively promotes the most ‘beautiful’ looking Reels on these trends. Anyone who opens the Reels tab on their app can always see that it’s the Savarna influencers who are trending.
It’s very difficult for non-Savarna users, who lack the same cultural and social capital of looks, clothes, and clean, picture-perfect backgrounds to succeed in this culture of making ‘aesthetic’ Reels. This is why you will only find similar kinds of faces known as ‘content creators ’ or social media ‘influencers’ in this overtly market-driven economy.
Also read: Instagram Reels is busy being woke. It has no space for the TikTok gang
Appropriation of Dalit art forms
The irony is that historically dance and music have been the domain of lower-caste communities in India. Music and dance were frowned upon by upper-caste families and there were many Dalit communities who were humiliated and ostracised for their occupations of singing and dancing.
The dance and music of these communities have now been taken over by socially dominant caste practitioners who ritually cleanse the music and dance of their original style and folk elements and Westernise them into being something that is ‘pure’, ‘urbane’ and ‘cool’. Today, the grandchildren of those who once directly discriminated against lower-castes are now singing and dancing on Insta Reels. They are now doing the same activities that made lower-castes ‘impure’, ‘brash’ and ‘loud’, but in perfect lighting and aesthetic settings.
Often, they end up appropriating the art-forms belonging historically to lower castes, further alienating the Dalits and Bahujans who don’t have similar capital to fit into the same aesthetics and settings. In the Insta Reels ecosystem, creators who dance or create videos outside of these aesthetics and songs are labeled ‘cringe’. As is often said online, ‘modern problems require modern solutions’ thus modern Savarnas, too, have come up with modern casteism. Personally, I would call it ‘castiesm with a good vibe’.
These Savarna mono-cultures persist in more open and crude forms in beauty and lifestyle-centric Reels. Here, Savarna fashion influencers are busy dictating how successful and cool women should dress and look like. It isn’t a coincidence that all these videos are only aimed to cater to the elite and upwardly mobile female Savarna crowd. Parading the idea of ‘girlboss’ and ‘beauty sleep’ is just the tip of the iceberg that hides the behemoth iceberg of labour done by Bahujan women who serve as domestic workers in upper-caste households — these visuals show the girlboss, just not the girls over whom she is supposed to be the boss of.
Also read: New Dalit women autobiographies are opening up private, intimate spaces, rewriting history
Only for Savarnas
There isn’t any Dalit account that features on ‘top- influencer’ lists. This doesn’t mean that Dalits are not creating great content on Instagram. There is a strong underground culture where many Dalit accounts are trying to express themselves by making use of modern digital vocabulary.
Many Dalit accounts face the wrath of angry Savarnas on Instagram who are unhappy that they have explored the question of caste on the social media platform. They try to shun the question itself by the use of choicest abuses that they seem to have inherited. Sometimes gaslighting is done in more subtle and softer forms — “But there ain’t any caste bro. It’s the 21st century for god’s sake,” or “We are all equals. Indian first!”.
The same Savarna social media users then move on to their newfound love for dance and post a feel-good Reel based on Western trends (let’s say, the “Don’t rush” challenge). Here, I would like to take the liberty of rewriting the quote by playwright Bertolt Brecht: “In the dark times there will be singing and dancing… but only by Savarnas.”
The author is a filmmaker and author of the book Love in the time of Pokemon. Views are personal.
[Edited by Fiza Ranalvi Jha]
This article is part of the Dalit History Month 2021 series. Read all the articles here.
It was supposed to be an article not an essay. Such a sad waste of platform.
This article lacks substance and most of it makes no sense. It is written by a really either brainwashed or evil mind. I am disappointed with The Print for giving space to such an illogical article. Experts must get the opportunity to write and post articles, not these kind of nonsensical people.
Kuch b likh deta hu nahi to job chali jayegi. Aur Upper caste ko gaali dedeta hu fir to naukri pakki.
Chamn Chuti*o Kuch acha kro zindgi me
Seriously? What a non sense post it is.
Seriously? Who wrote this crap?
I can’t believe that I wasted 5 mins of my life on this filth.
The print media is total shit supported and fu ded by anti India powers who want increase communal riots in india and make difference between our sanatani this is the only motive of print media
And print media and many of them are using liberty of speech as their weapon against us . Not even a single print media worker know about what sanatani people gave to world and also savarna we respect them we owe to them.
For further reality of this print media go and visit string reveals on youtube you will see the reality
Charan kaha hai apke Prabhu???
Kuch bhi…
What the thing u wrote . Now start giving Reservation on Instagram reels also. People don’t follow by watching the caste,they follow by seeing the content which the creators provide . And why u used modi government . whoever form the government, it is known as the government of India
There is no difference between you and opindia both are full of hatred.
This makes no sense.
Author seems to be a chicken head, go get the reservation for Dalits on insta posts!
I’m glad atleast someone wrote about it.
What really? You must be in style sort of dilema. You Blake the upper caste for sympathy, fine. Now even the algorithm is uppercaste?
I have a feeling the author got their inspiration from Coded Bias??
You’re a buffoon mate ?
While the observations made on this article may or may not be true, (non-Savarna representation in any media is low which allows for further marginalisation and discrimination) the supposed reasons for discrimination stated in this article are inaccurate.
The key reason why TikTok had better influencer representation from non-Savarna groups, as opposed to IG reels or other such new platforms, is dependent on how the algorithms works. It is dependent on how the platform algorithm defines user engagement and therefore promotes creators/content accordingly. Some of the points mentioned in this article such as aesthetics etc., also applied to the TikTok algorithm back in the day, what differs here is how the 2 platforms score/rank their content.
It’s true that the end result of IG reels is more casteist (and racist) than TikTok in some aspects, but both platforms are going to be casteist and racist, until necessary steps are taken to resolve that.
What is the difference between algorithmic functions in TikTok and Insta? Without not much knowledge of how this functions, I would assume content is delivered simply acc. the history of the user.
What, in my mind, seems more plausible is perhaps a difference in *branding* by the two apps- TikTok advertises itself as a product for grassroots content from the heartlands, while Insta caters more to the urbane elites. The differentiator then would be class, instead of class imo.
This article is the perfect example of why modern media is in crisis and why we must not support them
It feels like No matter what you do or what you say there is just no way to correct the harm done by savarnas in the past to those so called lower caste people that people born in savarna caste in this generation are also seen as a CasteDemon who are evil and still continuing that hate. If i said I’m a savarna maybe you won’t even read what i wrote and take it all as savarna-bulls##t.
The only problem is you aren’t watching the whole picture, your view is Biased too.
If you would’ve said it’s only the Rich and Middle class people who can afford the setting and all to make those shiny Insta reels I would’ve agreed but instead of watching this picture from the Money lens you took the old Casteism view. It shows that you’re obviously doing the evil you blame others that they do, that is, judging people by thier caste.
Hardly there would be any comment or hate you would find against any of the flop reels which have any racial negative comments on it.
I don’t have any way in my mind to end this comment, no hate for you, I’m not gonna write any expletives or anything I’m a student of Psychology and i believe that this opinion of yours can be changed.
Excellently explained !
I want to Slap myself for opening this article and reading it
Piece of total shitt
True that Divya
New Ravish Kumar, sees caste in instagram too now.
What next reservation in Instagram Influencers ?
Reservation in Indian Cricket team?
So our friend who is the author of this article, now wants reservation system in Instagram and other social media apps, by which 27% of recommendations on what’s trending will be for SC/ST, 18% for OBC, and 15% minority reservation and levying a tax of 30% income on general category. For God’s sake, Instagram demands appealing content, something sexy or funny. If you want to upload caste related vengeful videos, Instagram is not the platform. Mandir mai Shakira aur Kothe pe Maulvi ka koi kaam nahi. What a ridiculous article this has been. These days, caste system has been kept alive by those who have faced atrocities in its name. Blaming savarnas for their success and your failure to understand the market trend is not the solution.
Being a Dalit and a research scholar myself, i am afraid but that article is awful. There are no citations no reference to algorithm manipulation. No proper Dalit account is mentioned, no interview or otherwise has been cited either for a cross reference. Also, if you are writing about social media please note that the algorithm shows you what you are already viewing and filtering it through the process. What you have written damages and belittle the Dalit discourse. It’s more of a subjective hitpiece rather than investigative journalism. I pity the Editor of The Print as well for not equipped enough to understand a hit piece.
Anyone actually interested in Digital Racism should look for Vox video on Black vs White AI bias by Twitter. That’s how you research things with facts and figures unlike this. Shameful.
What damages and belittle the Dalit discourse is people like YOU because being a research scholar, you are still playing the victim card of calling yourself Dalit which means oppressed. So, even Scientists, Research scholars and other white collar job holders today are oppressed WTH? people like you who hold higher positions in politics and bureaucracy are showing fake oppressed victim cards and are acting woke just like in the U.S. VOX is another libtard, woke media that leaves no chance to misrepresent India (especially Kashmir issue) and people like you still lick their boots. A Colonial mind at its peak!
The ones who damage and belittle Dalit discourse are people like YOU. If being a research scholar is eligible for calling oneself Dalit which means oppressed, and playing the victim card then it means other white collar job holders like Scientists, Research heads and R&D guys can do the same. It is because of people like you who hold higher positions in politics and bureaucracy, poor people are still suffering and leave a no chance to mud sling on others. The hypocrisy of your above statement is shameless!
One of the most biased and silliest article I read in a long time.. Author is seriously just venting his frustration.. Also his whole view point is fixated in identifying people by their”apparent”caste based on his narrow frame of reference. The very use of the word savarna in numerous places show his obsession with caste and doesn’t do any service to better the situation.. Just a silly rant of a confused person.. Print really needs to get their act up.. This is really a very biased article
Don’t sit there and moan like a helpless idiot.
Quit instagram. Make an app of your own.
You must get a life. In your opinion every so called sawarna has born with silver spoon and a billionaire.
Also content is watched on basis of interest not castes or even religion. If it was so then why the most influencers are muslims. You the so called journalists are castiest not the general public. You inculcate the religion and caste in general public not the public. You are nothing but neo-royals
This article is trash. Let’s start by addressing a few points.
Attractiveness is what counts to become popular on instagram or any other social media. You need to put a lot of makeup on your face and dance around for the camera, sometimes in a not so decent fashion. Anyone with minimum brain cells can understand this.
Secondly, all upper castes are not attractive, I have seen really unattractive upper caste people and really attractive lower caste people as you have put it in your own words. Some of my classmates have come through the reservation category and are so beautiful that they can make it in movies. They are just not interested in instagram reels or exposing themselves on social media.
Music and dance was never only the jurisdiction of the lower communities. Infact, performances for the masses was. Many families historically of the upper classes knew music and dance, but display was looked down on.
What kind of person are you that you check the caste of a person before liking it? Talent is the only thing that matters and that’s what makes you successful in life.
People like you are the reason who portray a horrible image of India on the world front, and cry caste discrimination and prejudice over the smallest of things . The lower castes are no longer lower. They have the ability to learn and are given plenty of opportunities through reservation to pull through and make good for themselves and they have.
Please stop writing bullshit. I cannot believe this was even published and if you were paid, shame on the guy who approved this.
Loved to see the logic of illogical Suwarna denying the existence of caste on the Contrary the mere existence of most(>95%) of these suwarna on this earth is a result of deliberate mating between same caste Male and Female.
han be jaa jo krna hai karle subhuman
This article is ?. Didn’t expect this from Print
Bose DK kuch bhi Kahi b kaise b Insta creator or developer you think is an Indian who is obsessed with your theory that’s why he created. Can’t it be otherway round where they are hiding their identity or masking identity
Who the hell you are and why you still want to divide the country. It’s your personal propaganda or you have some vested interest
Notice how he writes Savarna every time where he could have simply wrote “they”.
I think he’s still learning the art of writing a biased article which sounds unbiased when read.
As much as I hate Reels and Instagram in general, there is nothing like what he has mentioned.
But then isn’t that whole point of The Print’s existence ?
Shouting “Do away with Brahmanical patriarchy”, “Narendra Modi ****** **** **** *******”
Bringing any kind of made up story and then saying freedom of speech is curtailed, democracy is in danger and what not.
To anyone reading this, please be aware of ThePrint, Scroll and similar platforms.
(P.s: Not a Modi fan but since I’ve criticized these people I’m most likely to be branded as bhakt)
Reels are a part of recreational mass culture. It shouldn’t be compared with caste and religion. Dancing is an emotion every human soul feels and performs for self joy and entertainment. Western culture has been an influence over many but it doesn’t discriminate caste on its adoption. It’s in the hand of the user on the social platform. Popular influencers do take up western trends and perform but that is to keep the challenge going or making it viral. It does not b ing down the cast factor
An advice…if you want people to support you and your journalism..then kindly fire this minus guy
Thank you 🙂
Why news media is in crisis & How you can fix it
Please read before publishing any article. I like The Print for its neutral position and it being a voice for people as different as Sheshadri Chari and Yogendra Yadav. But lets not make the portal look stupid by publishing articles by a certain kind of jouralists who do not know how Tech works and then asking for subscription!
The overton window has shifted dangerously towards polarised politics in the past two terms, no one could have predicted the rise of opinion making troll armies to this extent, some are even voluntary.
You make a good point how respectability politics derived from the aesthetic sense of a few are dictating the reach of content creators, and throughout out sanitized fabricated historybooks it is the same story.
Ironically, when it comes to brown bodies, we see the same thing with regard to how whites are the preferred aesthetic, colorism plays a good part in the reach and (lack of) restrictions of white content creators. Similar to white privilege deniers, caste privilege deniers will rampantly oppose the reality. Pretty basic.
Thanks for your insights. ?
Anurag minus logic : “Ha mammi ….maine reels me bhi casteism ghused diya …ab log mujhe woke anurag bolne lagenge …huehuehue.” ?♂️
Since the beginning of this article to its very end, I was deeply reading to find some logic of why did he write this fake & useless article and why did ‘The Print’ gave it a space on their platform.
No logic nothing……& below are they asking to support their journalism. This kind of journalism is better to die that creates divide in the society.
Useless
Hahaha. You’re spewing STUPID articles for popularity and it worked! But the popularity is negative. You’re probably Savarna and wants to offend actual dalits by linking castism to a platform that sees no colour/gender/race/nationality. I’ve now decided NOT TO TRUST ANYTHING FROM The Print.
I have slapped myself and my thumb after reading this article that , why did I open it ?
Ironically it seem the left are the ones who always mock lower caste people you guys have this club of elites that you think only people coming from DU and JNU are intellectuals
Some of you even use words like zombie to describe this lower standard group because they support BJP
Interesting observation. I hate reels too
Maybe Instagram is not racist. People who are on Instagram are privileged folks
If there are enough indians who don’t come from privilege join insta, then these Dalit folks will gett a chance.
The kind of audience dictates the content which trends! More engagements- more money!
God
Really
Articles like these make genuine ones treated like garbage too. You can’t cry wolf at every minor inconvenience ay. People actually face discrimination and here we are crying about some insignificant reels?!
????????????????
illogical, baseless, unnecessary, and over everything Why?!!!
I think the writer is in lot of pain.
This is the worse thing ever i red.. I use to believe on some of prints article but now .. I dont buy any of those . seriously? This is what you guys write ?
Aap jo bol rahe hai vo aapke kaano tak pohoch raha hai, either this man is highly depressed which has taken over his logic or he wants to just divide people.Upar wala dekh raha hai.
Are you high or what? Matlab kuch bhi?? Dalit se dance karwae us se bhi dikkat hai tumhe aur upper caste khud dance kare us se bhi dikkat hai? You article doesn’t make any sense. What kind of bullshit is this? Lmao And if they are Rich they are not allowed to make reals?? Unki ki kya galti ab unki reals trend ho rehi h to? Looks like liberal article likhne ke fer me ye log pagal ho chuke h
I had just started to follow The Print, now this piece has come at the right time to warn me of the dangers that lie ahead. This is shoddiest piece I have read in a long time. Bye Bye The Print!
You must be fun at parties ?
Nicely put
Whenever he is invited
The most brain-dead and illogical piece of information I read today. This author himself is one of those who is obsessed with people’s caste that he opens each of the trending videos creator’s profile and check their caste. Yikes!!
In case someone doesn’t know how to become viral in Tiktok or other social media you can google it. You need three to four things. Good facial features like no acne, nice jaw line, no dark circles etc. Make up is a must. Beutiful hair style. Anyone either Sarvana or no can follow the rules to use the algorithm to become viral. The author can google it himself/herself and see the condition to become viral. The should be a video somewhere explaining it. Even wasterners complain that only certain”kind” of people get viral. Most of them white. Dark skinned people hardly get viral.
This story is self defeating and counterproductive to fight against discrimination and disrespectful to good content creators and terming their success as caste based.
Stop being obsessed with people’s caste.
Agreed
Bro this article as a whole is totally baseless and senseless and it shows print’s never ending efforts to spread hate and mislead the masses against hindus . Such a shameful act
Agreed. Such an illogical article.
The most brain-dead and illogical piece of information I read today. This author himself is one of those who is obsessed with people’s caste that he opens each of the trending videos creator’s profile and check their caste. Yikes!!
In case someone doesn’t know how to become viral in Tiktok or other social media you can google it. You need three to four things. Good facial features like no acne, nice jaw line, no dark circles etc. Make up is a must. Beutiful hair style. Anyone either Sarvana or no can follow the rules to use the algorithm to become viral. The author can google it himself/herself and see the condition to become viral. The should be a video somewhere explaining it. Even wasterners complain that only certain”kind” of people get viral. Most of them white. Dark skinned people hardly get viral.
This story is self defeating and counterproductive to fight against discrimination and disrespectful to good content creators and terming their success as caste based.
Stop being obsessed with people’s caste.
Castiest idiots ar crying in the comments.
He is just shamelessly imitating the SJW culture of the US, it’s quite evident with all the usual buzzwords like white privilege changed to savarna privilege, culture appropriation changed to dalit appropriation, and the concept of black history month changed to dalit history month, this author has no thoughts of his own , it seems he has just plagiarised the entire article from Vice or Salon and done a Ctrl+ Find +Replace of white to dalit. People of this mindset don’t want discrimination to end rather they want the power dynamics among classes to prevail, but shift in their favour and the enemities to continue so they can always claim victory in the oppression olympics.