Fluidity of Identity and a Queer History of South Asia - Dr. Madhavi Menon - TPE 121

Dr Madhavi Menon comes on the podcast to discuss how the Anglo-American conception of identity does not apply to South Asia. On this deep dive podcast, we discuss how British prudish laws went against how Indians saw identity, gender and sexual fluidity, we discuss gender fluidity in Sufi culture, specifically Sufi poetry, we also get into discussions of consent, the agent of consent, gender performativity, desire, judgment, and our love for the Masala culture of Bollywood.  Madhavi Menon is Professor of English at Ashoka University. She earned her Bachelors and Masters in English from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, where she stood first in College in her BA, and was a University gold-medalist in her M.A. She completed her PhD from Tufts University. Prior to joining Ashoka, she taught at Ithaca College and American University. Her current book project is titled The Law of Desire (forthcoming with Speaking Tiger, 2021). Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder. https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89 https://instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:30 Fluidity of Identity 8:50 Gender Fluidity vs Sexuality Fluidity 12:30 The Bathroom debate and the state categorizing you 20:30 Fluidity in Sufi Culture 28:30 Section 377: Inclusion, Exclusion and Fighting for the narrative 34:00 Identity Politics: Cis and Trans terminology 44:50 Victimhood and racial identities 53:45 Consent 1:00:30 The Age of Consent 1:10:00 Performing Gender in South Asia on stage 1:14:00 Obviously I will bring up Psychedelics 1:21:00 Desire and Judgment: Pedophilia and Incest 1:29:00 The Hadiya case: Love Jihad and infantilizing women 1:31:00 The British categorization of 'Hindus' and 'Muslims' 1:36:30 Misuse of our history for their ideology and weaponizing victimhood 1:41:20 The masala culture of Bollywood 1:51:30 Pratap's resignation 1:54:30 Violence against women in South Asia