Gendered Bodies, Social Exclusions

This book examines contemporary issues in women's studies and the agency of the marginalised and disenfranchised in the political, cultural, and social spheres. It uses feminist pedagogies to articulate multiple intersecting histories of class, caste, race, sexuality, disability and citizenship. Employing feminist perspectives, the book challenges the hegemonic and patriarchal logic of heteronormativity as it contextualizes verbal abuse, violence in the 'private' space, and tensions between women's and men's rights along the continuum between family, community, and state. The essays in this volume examine the (im)possibilities of a violence-free, caring and affordable living space on the one hand, and aim to comprehend the gendered experience of violence at the confluence of migration, cultural and sexual labour on the other. In addition to exploring the cultural taboos that restrict women's autonomy and rights, they strive to prioritise a range of voices by focusing on dancers in the entertainment industry, sexual and gender minorities, urban poor people living in slums, and disabled women. They also document and archive the academic agency of staff and students as they work to rectify the unjust conditions of higher education institutions. Part of the Contemporary Issues in Social Science Research series, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of gender studies, women's studies, history, political science, sociology, social anthropology, development studies, law, media studies and South Asia studies.