Masculinity and the City

How do different groups of men navigate urban life and enact masculinity in the bustling metropolises of contempory Indian society? In this special 30th episode, marking two years of Now and Men, we speak to Prof Sanjay Srivastava and Dr Romit Chowdhury about the ways in which male power and privilege is both threatened and re-asserted in different city spaces in India and beyond, considering issues such as nationalism, consumerism, violence against women, mobility, and relations between men. We discuss Sanjay's recent book, ‘Masculinity, Consumerism, and the Post-National Indian City: Streets, Neighbourhoods, Home’ (Cambridge University Press, 2022), and Romit's which comes out in August 2023, ‘City of Men: Masculinities and Everyday Morality on Public Transport’ (Rutgers University Press).

Sanjay Srivastava is a British Academy Global Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at SOAS, University of London, and a Visiting Research Professor at Shiv Nadar University in Delhi. He has published numerous academic books and articles on topics including gender, urban social life, consumerism, middle-class cultures and the relationship between new forms of work and identity. 

• More info about his work: https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/sanjay-srivastava
• Buy his book: https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/sociology/sociology-gender/masculinity-consumerism-and-post-national-indian-city-streets-neighbourhoods-home
• Watch Sanjay discussing his article ‘Thrilling Affects: Sexuality, Masculinity, the City and ‘Indian Traditions’ in the Contemporary Hindi ‘Detective’ Novel’: https://vimeo.com/100405661
• Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanjays54451327

Romit Chowdhury is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Erasmus University College in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. His research interests are in urban studies, masculinity studies, ethnography, and literary theory. Prior to his research on men and transport he has explored masculinities in the contexts of men's rights movements, sexual violence, caregiving, and men doing feminist research and activism in India.

• More info about his work: https://www.eur.nl/en/people/romit-chowdhury
• Buy his book: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/city-of-men/9781978829503
• Watch Romit discussing his award-winning article, 'The social life of transport infrastructures: Masculinities and everyday mobilities in Kolkata': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWK2gbbqfAY
• Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chowdhury_romit

We cover the following topics in this episode: 

• Why study masculinity and urban life 
• Consumerism and the ‘post-national’ city in India, and what it has to do with gender
• Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces
• Romit’s research with male autorickshaw drivers and taxi drivers in Kolkata
• The unique methods Romit used to carry out his research 
• The role of ‘homosocial trust’ between male transport workers and police officers
• Working-class men’s struggles to accomplish ‘breadwinner masculinity’ in the city
• The characteristics of ‘Modi-masculinity’ and strongman politics in India
• How different groups of men make masculine cultures in Indian cities
• How Sanjay got involved in doing research on men, masculinities and cities in the first place 
• Backlash against work on gender issues