‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature

<p>This article looks at the asymmetrical bifurcation of gender roles and performativity that is reflected palpably within Bengali juvenile literature of the twentieth century. These writings strove to venerate a cult of hypermasculinity through the portrayal of brave, assertive Bengali heroes...

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Autor principal:	Stella Chitralekha Biswas
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN ES
Publicado:	Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 2021
Materias:	bengali juvenile literature hypermasculinity racist stereotypes sexual politics nationalism male homosocial bonding female agency General Works A
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e3ef7d05d5a94f379242e251b0539b72
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e3ef7d05d5a94f379242e251b0539b722021-12-02T17:00:44Z‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature2339-852310.5565/rev/indialogs.168https://doaj.org/article/e3ef7d05d5a94f379242e251b0539b722021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://revistes.uab.cat/indialogs/article/view/168https://doaj.org/toc/2339-8523<p>This article looks at the asymmetrical bifurcation of gender roles and performativity that is reflected palpably within Bengali juvenile literature of the twentieth century. These writings strove to venerate a cult of hypermasculinity through the portrayal of brave, assertive Bengali heroes who engaged in various escapades in distant lands or in the solving of mysteries and crimes, either alone or accompanied by male confidantes who remain completely devoted to them. This dominant cultural trope was consciously employed as a challenge to the imperial, racist stereotypes of the effeminate Bengali man who was imagined to be inferior to the virile, robust and intellectually superior Englishman. However, the role of women within such diegetic portrayals is liminal or conspicuously absent; female readers are conditioned to “wallow in the reflected glory of their heroes” (Mukherjee para. 13). This paper also looks into the politics of sexuality and nationalism involved within the celebration of male homosocial bonding over heteronormative relationships, thereby leading to the almost complete effacement of female agency.</p>Stella Chitralekha BiswasUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelonaarticlebengali juvenile literaturehypermasculinityracist stereotypessexual politicsnationalismmale homosocial bondingfemale agencyGeneral WorksAENESIndialogs: Spanish Journal of India Studies, Vol 8, Iss 0, Pp 183-200 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN ES
topic	bengali juvenile literature hypermasculinity racist stereotypes sexual politics nationalism male homosocial bonding female agency General Works A
spellingShingle	bengali juvenile literature hypermasculinity racist stereotypes sexual politics nationalism male homosocial bonding female agency General Works A Stella Chitralekha Biswas ‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature
description	<p>This article looks at the asymmetrical bifurcation of gender roles and performativity that is reflected palpably within Bengali juvenile literature of the twentieth century. These writings strove to venerate a cult of hypermasculinity through the portrayal of brave, assertive Bengali heroes who engaged in various escapades in distant lands or in the solving of mysteries and crimes, either alone or accompanied by male confidantes who remain completely devoted to them. This dominant cultural trope was consciously employed as a challenge to the imperial, racist stereotypes of the effeminate Bengali man who was imagined to be inferior to the virile, robust and intellectually superior Englishman. However, the role of women within such diegetic portrayals is liminal or conspicuously absent; female readers are conditioned to “wallow in the reflected glory of their heroes” (Mukherjee para. 13). This paper also looks into the politics of sexuality and nationalism involved within the celebration of male homosocial bonding over heteronormative relationships, thereby leading to the almost complete effacement of female agency.</p>
format	article
author	Stella Chitralekha Biswas
author_facet	Stella Chitralekha Biswas
author_sort	Stella Chitralekha Biswas
title	‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature
title_short	‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature
title_full	‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature
title_fullStr	‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature
title_full_unstemmed	‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature
title_sort	‘sons of bengal’ and the absent daughters: gender, performativity and nationalism in bengali juvenile literature
publisher	Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/e3ef7d05d5a94f379242e251b0539b72
work_keys_str_mv	AT stellachitralekhabiswas sonsofbengalandtheabsentdaughtersgenderperformativityandnationalisminbengalijuvenileliterature
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‘Sons of Bengal’ and the Absent Daughters: Gender, Performativity and Nationalism in Bengali Juvenile Literature

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