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Amrita Narayanan, "Women's Sexuality and Modern India: In a Rapture of Distress" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Jan 18, 2025
Amrita Narayanan, a practicing Clinical Psychologist and Psychoanalyst, dives into the intricate landscape of women's sexuality in modern India. She explores how cultural factors shape emotional complexities and women's sexual autonomy. The conversation reveals the profound impact of parental relationships, particularly between fathers and daughters, on sexual development. Narayanan also addresses the interplay of personal desires and societal pressures, shedding light on the challenges women face in reclaiming their identities and navigating moral expectations.
55:46
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Quick takeaways
- The podcast emphasizes the profound impact of socio-political history on women's sexual agency in India, revealing a tension between societal expectations and personal desires.
- Amrita Narayanan critiques the notion of sympathy towards women's sexual suffering, urging for a deeper understanding that goes beyond victimization towards recognizing their autonomy and complexity.
Deep dives
The Evolution of Women’s Sexuality in India
The discussion highlights the author's exploration of women’s sexual agency within the context of India’s socio-political history. The narrative indicates that the lack of a sexual revolution has led to a silence surrounding the sexuality of middle-class Indians, prompting the author to articulate this experience through various literary works. Specifically, the book employs twelve self-narrated sexual histories of women born between 1947 and 1992, using these narratives to illustrate the psychoanalytic implications of living under patriarchy. This historic dissemination underlines the tension between societal expectations and personal sexual subjectivity, demonstrating how cultural influences impact women's experiences of sexuality.
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