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Masculinity, Sexuality and Culture: Entangled Narratives

Srivastava, Sanjay

Authors



Contributors

Anu Aneja
Editor

Abstract

This chapter explores recent histories of masculine cultures in India. It further suggests that masculinity and sexuality are intertwined topics. The discussion proceeds through outlining the most significant sites of the making of masculinity discourses during the colonial, the immediate postcolonial and the contemporary periods. Through constructing a narrative of Indian modernity that draws upon diverse contexts – such as colonial discourses about natives, anti-colonial nationalism, and postcolonial discourses of economic planning, ‘liberalization’ and consumerism – the chapter illustrates the multiple locations of masculinity politics and its articulation with ideas of sexuality. The chapter also seeks to point out that while there are continuities between the (colonial) past and the (postcolonial) present, the manner in which the past is utilized for the purposes of the present relates to performances and contexts in the present. Finally, it suggests there is no linear history of masculinity, but rather one that describes the uses of the past in the present, allowing us to understand the prolix and circular ways in which the present is constituted.

Citation

Srivastava, S. (2019). Masculinity, Sexuality and Culture: Entangled Narratives. In A. Aneja (Ed.), Women’s and Gender Studies in India: Crossings. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429025167-9

Publication Date May 1, 2019
Deposit Date Oct 17, 2022
Publicly Available Date May 2, 2119
Publisher Routledge
Book Title Women’s and Gender Studies in India: Crossings
ISBN 9781138090064
DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429025167-9