(Un)Familiar Femininities : Studies in Contemporary Lesbian South Asian Texts

A nuanced reading of contemporary literary and cinematic texts from India and its diaspora, this work traces the histories of the ''un(familiar)'' lesbian in the homophobic realm around us. Focusing on representations and legacies of such femininities, the author shows how female same-sex socialities and female same-sex love straddle terrains both familiar and unfamiliar, arguing that homosexuality and heterosexuality are not in opposition but in a state of constant dialogue with each other.

The female homosexual in South Asia is not always a visible lesbian person. She is often a figuration of an act that challenges hegemonic ideas of gender and female subjectivity. This lesbian femininity can be found in many socio-cultural conversations, defamiliarizing and subverting normative ideas of female monogamy, compulsory motherhood, asexuality, celibacy, and compliance. A nuanced reading of contemporary literary and cinematic texts from India and its diaspora, this work traces the histories of the ''un(familiar)'' lesbian in the homophobic realm around us. Focusing on representations and legacies of such femininities, the author shows how female same-sex socialities and female same-sex love straddle terrains both familiar and unfamiliar, arguing that homosexuality and heterosexuality are not in opposition but in a state of constant dialogue with each other.