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Research Paper | English Language and Literature | India | Volume 7 Issue 12, December 2018 | Popularity: 6.5 / 10

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Queer Literature in India: Visible Voices of the Sexual Subalterns

Aditi Chakraborty

Abstract: In 1998, it rained fire in Indian theatres with Deepa Mehta's film Fire. This film brought out the unspoken truth of female sexuality in Indian homes, ie, the idea of a lesbian relationship. The film shook the nation and was a seen as a tool to corrupt Indian sexual ethics. The idea of Queer was seen as a post-colonial literature and it created a new socio-political diaspora. Not only it discusses sexuality but also the theme of gender roles and power play and taboos faced under patriarchy. The transgender also gained it representation in Kamala Das's poem Dance of the Eunuchs. The themes of effeminacy and misogyny found concrete grounds in the works of Rabindranath Tagore. The realism in relationships and in the power hierarchy was mirrored through this form of diaspora but it failed to be inclusive. Queer studies bring out the voices of the subaltern with their repressed sexuality. The idea of the new woman is just not the independent one but also whose sexual desires are important. Queer literature in India has been hiding in the banner of feminism and has its own demarcation. Today with the rise of activism, it is out of its own closet but has not been given the literary freedom or inclusivity by the popular verdict. My paper explores how this literature has been visible and vocal throughout to be a catalyst of respite for the repressed sexual minorities of the nation.

Keywords: Queer, literature, lesbian, sexuality gender, homophobia, subaltern, Tagore, Chugtai, Kamala Das, transgender

Edition: Volume 7 Issue 12, December 2018

Pages: 382 - 387

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