Why Won't The Saree Fit Me?

Authors

  • Atmaza Chattopadhyay

Keywords:

Post-Feminism, Nationalism, Indian Femininity, Saree, Reclamation

Abstract

This audio essay titled “Why won’t the saree fit me?”, will focus on the author’s personal experience with the saree and the women around her who drape themselves with it. The author has never worn a saree in her life, despite being surrounded by Indian women who wear it constantly and through this essay, she aims to discover more about her relationship with not only the saree but also Indian femininity. This essay will deploy course concepts such as the politics of recognition in relation of class and caste, politicized femininity and muscular nationalism, spectacularisation of non-white feminity, postfeminism etc to better understand the role of the saree in constructing indian femininity, especially within the morden day context. It concludes by drawing up the saree as a cultural capital that needs to be reclaimed by the author.

Author Biography

Atmaza Chattopadhyay

Atmaza Chattopadhyay is a third-year Political Science, Philosophy and Economics student with a minor in Gender and Women's studies. She currently works as a bookseller, Tuum Est Fund programme assistant and Research Assistant. Through her various roles, Atmaza spends a lot of time critically thinking about doing social justice work within an inherently oppressive institution. She also likes spending her time exploring and reading literature written by BIPOC women such as Arundhiti Roy, Audre Lorde and Angela Y Davis. A lot of her goals and ambitions in life are informed by their work.

Downloads

Published

2022-03-14

Issue

Section

Creative