Masculinity and Its Challenges in India: Essays on Changing Perceptions

This volume of new interdisciplinary essays is aimed at providing some insights into the emerging field of masculinities and the challenges that it poses to the Indian male. Masculinities research has evolved considerably over the past three decades. Feminist studies have demonstrated how patriarchy functioned by oppressing women. Masculinity studies, however, demonstrate that men are not an homogenous group but are instead diverse-many masculinities. Further, the construct of hegemonic masculinity revealed how men regulate one another, as well as women. Globalisation trends show that masculinity can no longer be studied from just a North American or European perspective but rather from that of every part of the world. Canvassing a broad array of aspects such as the construction of identity and the negotiation of power and sexuality, these essays aim to show how masculinities are experienced, performed and embodied within India.