This article investigates the ways in which the Western theoretical construct of the feminist uto... more This article investigates the ways in which the Western theoretical construct of the feminist utopia has been rearticulated within the field of colonial and postcolonial studies. Particularly, it contends that Rokeya Hossain’s literary works innovatively use the framework of the feminist utopia to reimagine a decolonized nation premised on the ideals of gender equity and religious harmony. Using the scholarship of Barnita Bagchi, Sreejata Paul, Sandeep Banerjee, and Ralph Pordzik, among others, as a springboard, this article situates two of Hossain’s literary works—Sultana’s Dream (1905) and Padmarag (1924)—firmly at the intersections of feminist utopianism and postcolonial studies. By analyzing textual evidence and incorporating historical research on the Indigo Rebellion and the nationalist struggle for independence, the article also establishes ways in which Hossain reconfigures the discourse of nationalism by positioning the subjectivities of colonized women front and center.
This article examines the motifs of queer motherhood and queer womanhood in Arundhati Roy’s novel... more This article examines the motifs of queer motherhood and queer womanhood in Arundhati Roy’s novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness as strategies of resistance against an increasingly totalitarian Indian state, particularly in light of the resurgence of Hindutva extremism and state-sanctioned repression of sexual, gender, caste, and religion-based minorities. Drawing on scholarship from queer theory, South Asian, and motherhood studies, and their underemphasized intersections, I interpret the novel’s recalibration of adoptive adult-female/female-child relationships as a legitimate queer feminist praxis that, in turn, signals ahead to a utopian future that will pose a veritable challenge to the heteropatriarchal institutions of a nation currently experiencing the detrimental impacts of global capitalism and neoliberalism. I go on to contend that Roy’s portrayal of the two female protagonists and their queered relationship to two abandoned girl children, whom they adopt and care for without the sanction of social and legal systems, is a direct critique of the devaluation of the lives of South Asian girl children and a violation of the norms of compulsory heteronormativity. Lastly, I supplement my reading of queer motherhood in the novel with analysis of both mainstream and academic discourses on real hijra mother-adoptive daughter relationships.
This article investigates the ways in which the Western theoretical construct of the feminist uto... more This article investigates the ways in which the Western theoretical construct of the feminist utopia has been rearticulated within the field of colonial and postcolonial studies. Particularly, it contends that Rokeya Hossain’s literary works innovatively use the framework of the feminist utopia to reimagine a decolonized nation premised on the ideals of gender equity and religious harmony. Using the scholarship of Barnita Bagchi, Sreejata Paul, Sandeep Banerjee, and Ralph Pordzik, among others, as a springboard, this article situates two of Hossain’s literary works—Sultana’s Dream (1905) and Padmarag (1924)—firmly at the intersections of feminist utopianism and postcolonial studies. By analyzing textual evidence and incorporating historical research on the Indigo Rebellion and the nationalist struggle for independence, the article also establishes ways in which Hossain reconfigures the discourse of nationalism by positioning the subjectivities of colonized women front and center.
This article examines the motifs of queer motherhood and queer womanhood in Arundhati Roy’s novel... more This article examines the motifs of queer motherhood and queer womanhood in Arundhati Roy’s novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness as strategies of resistance against an increasingly totalitarian Indian state, particularly in light of the resurgence of Hindutva extremism and state-sanctioned repression of sexual, gender, caste, and religion-based minorities. Drawing on scholarship from queer theory, South Asian, and motherhood studies, and their underemphasized intersections, I interpret the novel’s recalibration of adoptive adult-female/female-child relationships as a legitimate queer feminist praxis that, in turn, signals ahead to a utopian future that will pose a veritable challenge to the heteropatriarchal institutions of a nation currently experiencing the detrimental impacts of global capitalism and neoliberalism. I go on to contend that Roy’s portrayal of the two female protagonists and their queered relationship to two abandoned girl children, whom they adopt and care for without the sanction of social and legal systems, is a direct critique of the devaluation of the lives of South Asian girl children and a violation of the norms of compulsory heteronormativity. Lastly, I supplement my reading of queer motherhood in the novel with analysis of both mainstream and academic discourses on real hijra mother-adoptive daughter relationships.
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