In this engaging discussion, Amrita Narayanan, a practicing Clinical Psychologist and author, delves into the complexities of women's sexuality in modern India. She critiques the absence of a sexual revolution and emphasizes the need to recognize female agency alongside their struggles. Narayanan addresses the emotional landscape of grief and empowerment in women's sexual experiences, stressing the importance of mourning lost freedoms. She also explores the nuanced father-daughter dynamics during puberty, highlighting their influence on women's self-acceptance and identity.
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insights INSIGHT
Exploring Indian Sexuality
Amrita Narayanan's books explore the articulation of middle-class Indian sexuality.
Her works, including "A Pleasant Kind of Heavy" and "The Parrots of Desire," examine this theme across time and within the Indian subcontinent.
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Sympathy's Counterproductive Effect
Sympathizing with women's sexual suffering can hinder their development of agency.
Focusing solely on suffering reinforces the taboo and prevents genuine victories.
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Beyond Superficiality
Outward appearances don't reflect sexual agency; inner experiences and identifications do.
Amrita Narayanan's "Women's Sexuality and Modern India: In a Rapture of Distress" explores the complexities of female sexuality within the Indian cultural context. The book uses a psychoanalytic lens to examine the social and psychological factors that shape women's sexual experiences. Narayanan draws on interviews with women born between 1947 and 1992, highlighting the impact of patriarchal norms and societal expectations. The work delves into themes of trauma, mourning, and the struggle for sexual agency. Ultimately, the book offers a nuanced understanding of the challenges and triumphs of women navigating sexuality in a culturally complex environment.
The parrots of desire
The parrots of desire
3000 years of Erotica in India
Amrita Narayanan
The Parrots of Desire is an anthology of erotic literature from India, spanning 3000 years. It showcases poems, short stories, and prose from various Indian languages, offering a rich tapestry of erotic expression across time and cultures. The anthology provides insights into the diverse ways sexuality has been represented and experienced in India. It challenges conventional notions of sexuality and morality, offering a glimpse into the hidden aspects of Indian culture. The collection is a valuable resource for understanding the evolution of erotic literature and its cultural significance.
Inner World
Inner World
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Sudhir Kakar
Amrita Narayanan is a practicing Clinical Psychologist (Psy.D. 2007) and Psychoanalyst (Indian Psychoanalytic Society, 2019). She is the author of Women's Sexuality and Modern India: In a Rapture of Distress (Oxford University Press, 2023). She was the Editor of and essayist in The Parrots of Desire: 3000 years of Erotica in India (Aleph Books, 2018) a collection of poems, short prose and fiction in translation from Indian languages, linked by an introductory essay on the central themes in Indian erotic literature. She was an essayist for Pha(bu)llus: a cultural history of the Phallus (Harper Collins, 2020). Amrita is currently visiting faculty at Ashoka University where she teaches classes at the undergraduate and masters level.
Amrita's research interests are in cultural factors in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, the psychodynamics of women's sexual agency, and how cultural factors shape the aesthetics of women's sexual agency. Her writing has appeared in academic journals such as Psychodynamic Practice and Psychoanalytic Review; newspapers such as The Hindu and The Indian Express; and popular press periodicals such as Outlook, Open Magazine India Today and The Deccan Herald. Amrita has received the Sudhir Kakar Prize for psychoanalytic writing, the Taylor and Francis Prize for Psychoanalytic writing, and the Homi Bhabha Fellowship.
The interviewer is Psychoanalyst and Writer, Ashis Roy, New Delhi.
New Books in Sociology