Gender, Power and Identity by Prem Chowdhry (Hardcover)

The highlight of Gender, Power and Identity is a humorously presented in-depth family history of the author; it is a methodological delight. A cultural context of rural North India is depicted in two essays that trace ideological constructs of patriarchal assertion. Chowdhury also traces alternatives and the wind of change through different historic periods. Masculinized hegemony is dismissed through the mood and messaging of women’s cultural expression. Three folk songs sung by married women are reproduced in the essay titled ‘Popular Perceptions of Masculinity’. In their search for better male virility, women boldly sing of their aspirations of seeking lovers from among outliers like fakirs, performers and lower-caste men. Men, according to Chowdhry, tried to control this contestation of power but failed in their attempts. This failure to subvert opens the pathway to gender democracy. The challenge women pose to the sexual adequacy of the male, his ability to provide an adequate income, is always within the hearing distance of men and boys. Their insecurity leads them to seek refuge in body building and indulging in substance abuse. A few like the author’s father, Hardwari Lal, educated themselves to set patterns of alternative behaviour.