Mahesh Dattani’s Dance Like a Man
A Depiction of the Trials and Tribulations of an Androgynous Personality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14956568 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chhavi Chhavi (0000-0002-2044-0172), Rajiv Bhushan (0000-0002-3646-2181, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Publication date | 2020-10-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0975-2935 • E-ISSN: 0975-2935 |
| Publisher | Aesthetics Media Services (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s11n2 |
| OpenAlex | W3113161496 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
Mahesh Dattani is one of the leading Indian dramatists who responded to the problems of sexuality on the canvass of Indian theatre. He examined various facets of subjugation and marginalization rampant in Indian society. His plays focus on the sub-urban Hindu family and its trifle with gender and alternate sexuality. His plots revolve around the damaging implications of patriarchal constructs and his characters strive for liberty and self-satisfaction beneath hegemonic masculinity, compulsive heteronormativity and prejudiced cultural domain. Regarding his famous play Dance Like a Man, this paper critically examines the existing socio-cultural domain which practices politics of exclusion of androgynous identities behind the façade of peacefully cohabiting heterosexual Indian family and shows how Dattani, has remarkably countered the presentation of the polarized association of gender roles with conventional practice through performance of his protagonist. Set against the backdrop of patriarchal mindset, this paper delineates that the victim of patriarchal norms is not a woman but a man, who has traits of androgyny. It gives a brief account to highlight the significance of androgyny and portrays how androgyny is directly proportional to creativity. It elucidates how androgynous men undergo searing experiences of stigma and social untouchability in a traditional setup and how patriarchal norms reinforce dominant powers of society to stunt the growth of their personality
Aesthetics · Androgyny · Art · Beauty · Dance · Depiction · Hinduism · Human sexuality · Literature · Masculinity · Oppression · Personality · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Tamil · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious studies · Social Psychology · South Asian Cinema and Culture
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |