The recently released film, Kaathal, has ignited public discussions of gender and sexuality in Kerala. But to what extent does it subvert Kerala’s norms around family, caste, and class? Sandra Elizabeth Joseph reflects.
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Tag: gender and sexuality
‘Everything Old is New Again’: Telling the Story of the Sabarimala Battle
In anticipation of Deepa Das Acevedo’s forthcoming book, The Battle for Sabarimala: Religion, Law, and Gender in Contemporary India (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), Ala spoke to Deepa about the nuances of the case, and the meeting of the old and the new in this heavily mediatised legal battle for women’s entry into a temple.
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Work from Home or Social Quarantine? Narratives of Women IT Professionals in Kerala
At a time when working from home, adopted at the height of the pandemic, is being presented as offering added flexibility for women in the workplace, G S Divya delves into the lived experiences of Malayali women in the IT sector to examine the patriarchal implications of ‘work-from-home’.
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Do We Belong At Home?
As thousands of middle-class Malayali women migrate to cities outside Kerala, Ashwathy provides an intimate portrait of how they might negotiate questions of home, belonging, and anonymity.
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Brewing Exclusion: Tea Shops and Women in Kerala
Accompanied by original sketches, Gaya Hadiya shares her experiences of chayakkadas in Kerala, highlighting how they reflect the gender, caste and class relations in the region.
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Surviving the Pandemic: Fish-Vending Women Speak
Kerala’s fishing communities are beseiged by long-standing social marginalisation, ongoing climate change, and the recent pandemic. The women of these communities, who are predominantly engaged in fish vending, voice the multiple challenges they face.
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[Podcast] ഭീതിയുടെ ഭാവനാലോകങ്ങൾ: Aleena on Poetry and Politics
Ever since Aleena’s collection of poems, ‘Silk Route’, was published by Goosebery Publications in July 2021, her works have been discussed widely on social media, for her use of the Malayalam language in innovative ways while discussing complex politics. Aleena talks to Ala about her poems and their politics, and about using horror as a genre for poetry.
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How M. R. Renukumar’s Stories for Children Rewrite Boyhood
Sreejith delves into three of M. R. Renukumar’s illustrated stories for children, exploring how these rich portrayals of the turbulent lifeworlds of boys convey the complexities of gender, caste, and social marginalization for young readers.
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Women in Caste-Based Occupations: Stories from Moosari Women
Accompanied by her original illustrations portraying their work and workspaces, Reema K. presents stories of women from Kerala’s Moosari community of sculptors.
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Unsettling the Camera’s Gaze: Who is Following Whom?
How and why do certain films make the viewer feel that they are being followed? Shonima N. analyses two recent Malayalam films to examine how they play with the male gaze to unsettle the spectator.
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