tumblr.com/). This could be seen as evidence to the difference between the meanings encoded in the images (the benevolent, protective figure of Amma) and the meanings decoded by the receiver (the intrusive, dictatorial, authoritarian figure). .
Mediation is also an important aspect of identity formation as reflexive social entities, such as selves, societies, and cultures, are fundamentally constituted through the process of mediation while this same process produces a fiction of pre-mediated existence. The fact that the self is not only reconstituted but is actually produced by the mediation of images is contested by the idea that there is a reality independent of the image. The paper will look at how this applies to the identity of female politicians as Amma, Didi, or Behen. .
Gender, Identity and Politics.
Research shows that the restraints of family life are real trepidations even for privileged women. Interestingly, none of the four women we are looking at face(d) these constraints – three of them are unmarried and one of them was widowed. Their marital status assumes significance in the context of construction of particular gender identities they acquired in popular discourse, which does not preclude allegations of affairs with men in their close circles (such as Dhirendra Brahmachari in the case of Indira Gandhi and MGR in the case of Jayalalithaa). Shireen Rai (2002) has argued that kinship link and state initiatives have been important factors having an impact on women's access to political life, apart from social and political movements. Our analysis will explore how and to what extent each of the factors played a role in shaping the political careers of Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, Jayalalithaa and Indira Gandhi. While the entry into politics of women in India is undoubtedly mediated by factors such as class, caste, and even religion, one cannot but argue that it was the support or mentorship of state social and political leaders (Kanshi Ram, MGR) which was paramount at least at the time of entry, if not in the actual acquisition of political power.
