How the Queer Keep it Classy
Performing Heterosexuality in Shani Mootoo's Novel Valmiki's Daughter
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11678233 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sukayana Gupta (University of Southern Indiana, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 65-86 |
| Publication date | 2015-11-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | South Asian Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0275-9527 • E-ISSN: 2573-9476 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02759527.2015.11933018 |
| OpenAlex | W2772797004 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
This article examines the construction of gender by the upper-middle-class Indo-Trinidadian community presented in Shani Mootoo's Valmiki's Daughter. Queer bodies, like Valmiki and Viveka, perform heterosexuality while they are coerced to survive within the Indo-Trinidadian heteronormative social structure. Although queer desire in this community cannot be made public, this article argues that it allows queer characters to evade the racial othering of non-Indian Caribbeans and the heteronormative structure of the Indo-Trinidadian society, which forces them to confront their colonial and indentured histories by constantly reminding them of their (dis)located diasporic self. Through their performances, queer bodies are able to subvert heteronormative social frameworks and to accommodate their queerness
Archaeology · Colonialism · Daughter · Heteronormativity · Heterosexuality · Human sexuality · Political science · Queer · Queer theory · Sociology · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Gender Studies · History · Law · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies · South Asian Cinema and Culture
| Highly cited | No |
|---|