Cover Image

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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jeyasingam, Shobana
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Homophobia in literature
Cosmopolitanism in literature
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/98732/1/FBMK%202021%2026%20UPMIR.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/98732/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my.upm.eprints.98732
record_format eprints
spelling my.upm.eprints.987322022-09-28T08:20:17Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/98732/ Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction Jeyasingam, Shobana 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. 2021-04 Thesis NonPeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/98732/1/FBMK%202021%2026%20UPMIR.pdf Jeyasingam, Shobana (2021) Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction. Doctoral thesis, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Homophobia in literature Cosmopolitanism in literature
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
language English
topic Homophobia in literature
Cosmopolitanism in literature
spellingShingle Homophobia in literature
Cosmopolitanism in literature
Jeyasingam, Shobana
Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction
description 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.
format Thesis
author Jeyasingam, Shobana
author_facet Jeyasingam, Shobana
author_sort Jeyasingam, Shobana
title Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction
title_short Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction
title_full Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction
title_fullStr Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction
title_full_unstemmed Internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary Indian diasporic fiction
title_sort internalized homophobia and rooted cosmopolitan identity in selected contemporary indian diasporic fiction
publishDate 2021
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/98732/1/FBMK%202021%2026%20UPMIR.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/98732/
_version_ 1745563866775945216
score 13.211869

Similar Items