| ID | 183484 |
| Title Proper | Capsizing the gaze |
| Other Title Information | gender non-conforming communities as monitorial citizens |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Ghosh, Banhishikha |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | During the current pandemic, gender non-conforming communities (GNCs) in India have been engaging themselves as critical citizens through a demonstration of civic engagement and social responsibility. This paper, based on narratives, documentary evidence and media reports, demonstrates how GNC volunteers are playing a decisive role in accentuating the virtues of representative democracy by serving as ‘monitorial citizens’ in India. It also considers the social dynamics involved in GNC people becoming ‘monitorial’ in a heteronormative society. This means consolidation of their community network and its strategic and instrumental use not just to serve their community, but also a diverse cis-gendered population consisting of migrants, homeless, marginalized, and the poor. In this process, they are creating a shared sense of belonging, based on mutual experiences of discrimination, with other communities that are not categorized as gender non-conforming. Their actions also challenge the normative standards set by mainstream society and create an alternative to existing power hierarchies by capsizing the heteronormative ‘gaze’. |
| `In' analytical Note | Contemporary South Asia Vol. 29, No.4; Dec 2021: p.532-545 |
| Journal Source | Contemporary South Asia Vol: 29 No 4 |
| Key Words | Democracy ; Covid-19 Pandemic ; Gender Non-Conforming Communities ; Monitorial Citizens ; Subaltern Citizenship |