Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction
The challenges to contemporary cosmopolitanism with specific reference to marginalised communities is an area that has been shown to have a scarcity of literary study. Therefore, the present study is conducted to address this gap and highlight the problem of internalized homophobia among LGBTQ...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/98732/1/FBMK%202021%2026%20UPMIR.pdf http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/98732/ |
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| Summary: | The challenges to contemporary cosmopolitanism with specific reference to
marginalised communities is an area that has been shown to have a scarcity of
literary study. Therefore, the present study is conducted to address this gap
and highlight the problem of internalized homophobia among LGBTQ
characters which is a deterrent to the construction of a cosmopolitan identity. The
study is focused on migrant LGBTQ characters of the Indian diaspora in North
America and how the presence of internalized homophobia deters the
attainment of a cosmopolitan identity. Unearthing the challenges to becoming
cosmopolitan due to internalized homophobia addresses the gap pertaining to
LGBTQ narratives of the Indian Subcontinent whereby heteronormative
traditions and beliefs of a homophobic environment that lead to the
development of internalized homophobia deters LGBTQ characters from
being autonomous and free despite being in a more accepting environment
in a host country. Herein, this study first aims to examine the authors’ depiction
of the cosmopolitan social setting in the host nation in providing acceptance for
alternative sexual orientations in the selected novels. Moving on, the second
objective is to investigate the patterns of internalized homophobia that
manifest in the selected LGBTQ characters. Finally, the third objective aims to
explicate the development of internalized homophobia and expound on the
authors’ portrayal of internalized homophobia deterring the formation of a
cosmopolitan identity in the selected LGBTQ characters. In doing so, this study
utilizes textual analysis of the five selected novels, namely Rahul Mehta’s No
Other World (2017), Mala Kumar’s The Paths of Marriage (2014), The Hungry
Ghosts (2013) by Shyam Selvadurai, My Magical Palace (2012) by Kunal
Mukherjee and Farzana Doctor’s Stealing Nasreen (2007) by combining the
concepts of rooted cosmopolitanism by Kwame Anthony Appiah and
internalized homophobia by Ilan H. Meyer and Laura Dean to anchor the
conceptual framework. The current study is significant in its efforts to highlight
the challenges to developing a cosmopolitan identity within cosmopolitan fiction of the Indian diaspora where previous research has mainly focused on ways to
develop a cosmopolitan identity. This study concludes that societal
conventions that are bred in heteronormativity are the root causes to
internalized homophobia which in turn challenges the construction of a
cosmopolitan identity. Therefore, future research could focus on fiction of other
Asian diasporas who are also known for deep familial roots such as the
Chinese, Koreans, or Japanese to determine the effects of internalized
homophobia on the cosmopolitan values of the LGBTQ characters of
Eastern Asian descent within a migrant background. |
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