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Literary Review
BOOKWATCH
Masculinity endangered!
BY ANITA JOSHUA
A Little Book on Men, Rahul Roy, Yoda Press, Rs. 150.
GENDER is about the two sexes, but the feminine has come to dominate the word to such an extent that it has almost become synonymous with women. And with good reason, acknowledges Gautam Bhan, general editor of the Sexualities list at Yoda Press. But, in the same breath, he says, "It is time to break — just as the women's movement did several decades ago — another cycle of silence: The silence about men, men's lives and masculinities." More so in South Asia.
Women of the region are sure to differ with Bhan and Rahul Roy, for, it is no secret that South Asia remains a male-dominated society. Well aware of the odds they are up against, Bhan and Roy insist that masculinities "remains the least researched, the most unrecognised, the least visible pool of darkness of the South Asian reality". This cannot be disputed; at least in the South Asian context where women's lives, histories and struggles are the subject of intense study. Though this book claims to address various issues relating to masculinity, it is at best an appetizer; using popular culture, socialisation charts used in school, documentary footage and personal narratives to float an idea.
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