Kaustav Chakraborty

De-stereotyping Indian Body and Desire Kaustav Chakraborty

Stereotypes result in deceptive generalizations about groups and are held in a manner that renders them as derogatory. As such, this volume advocates an active, goal-oriented effort in order to reduce prejudice through contact. Deconstructing the motivated `otherizing' of the marginalized, the book offers an alternative reading of the representations of Indian body and desire, in both literature and media, that are often politically inscribed as `abnormal' and `unnatural' due to their non-conformity. Poststructural and postcolonial theories have argued that the body is a cultural construct rather than a natural entity. This argument is based on the assumption that there is no unalloyed body with any singular signification, but there are bodies onto which a multiplicity of meanings are inscribed and enforced. The responsibility of this `inscription' lies with the agencies that hold power in a culture, and the infused meanings will consequently facilitate the ideologies of such agencies. In other words, the bodies of a certain culture are the `embodiment' of the ideas of those who hold power in that culture. The corporality of the body, in this sense, is a cultural site in which the subtle political ideologies are deftly imposed, and, accordingly, `correct' and `sanctioned' desire is expected to germinate. Consequently, it may be argued that apparently unified or non-contradictory bodies of `normal' desire should be suspected of having subtle hegemonic mechanisms in their formation. As a corollary to this, an investigation into such `abnormal' bodies with `unnatural' desires may have the effect of subverting such a power structure. Today's world believes in de-stereotyped thinking and stereotyped living. Language has already been declared as a means more of camouflage than of revelation. As a result, there is a need to deconstruct the so-called `radical' representations and expose the undercurrent of the norm. Otherization through stereotyping agencies and ideologies motivates racist, sexist and other de-humanizing positions and perspectives. This book, which is the outcome of the UGC-sponsored National Seminar organised by the Department of English at Southfield College, Darjeeling, is an endeavour to demystify the politics behind stereotyping, and to advocate the justification of de-stereotyping. As such, it represents a significant contribution to numerous disciplines including subaltern studies, women and gender studies, queer studies and minority discourse.