Cast(e)ing and translating sex in the vernacular

The writings of Santram BA in Hindi

Bibliographic Data

ID13086317
AuthorsCharu Gupta (0000-0002-9523-4437, University of Delhi, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume7
Issue1
Pages19-35
Publication date2019-01-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePorn Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2326-8743 • E-ISSN: 2326-8751
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23268743.2018.1535280
OpenAlexW2912764523
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited23

Santram BA (1887–1998), a Shudra caste reformer, wrote several articles and books in Hindi on sex and birth control, including translations of Mary Stopes’ writings, in the early twentieth century. This article places Santram’s vernacular writings in a larger historical context of the growth of print, which facilitated the widespread production of so-called obscene material as a commodity. Santram’s writings not only contribute in creating an archive for the study of sexual sciences, they also help in addressing the vernacular as a significant, if ambivalent, site for the reproduction, transformation and contestation around matters of sex. The article argues that Santram straddled multiple terrains, as on the one hand he drew from classical works on kamashastra, referring to them as beneficial sexual sciences, and on the other he relied on western sexologists to underline pleasure and desire as important facets of modern sexual life. Using the medium of vernacular and translation, Santram created spatial-intimate spaces to celebrate sexual relationships, not only conjoining the private–public, but also opening up an ancillary terrain of textures of touch and sexuality and registers of transgressive sexual norms

Aesthetics · Art · Caste · Context (archaeology · Hindi · Human sexuality · Linguistics · Literature · Pleasure · Political science · Sociology · Vernacular · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Race, History, and American Society

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