DO YOU HATE MEN?

When I tell people, I’m doing a Ph.D. in Gender Studies, their reactions always amuse me. I and several others in my line of work are so used to defining Gender Studies and its relevance to people. This piece is a reflection of the collective response to the daunting question, “What is Gender Studies and do we need it at all?”

Let’s begin with an anecdote from my semester of teaching. As I began my class on Gender Sensitivity, a compulsory course, a student asked me if I am Feminazi. Bewildered by his inquiry, I prepared to answer, while he continued emphatically, “Do you hate men?” I had just then been made aware of the mammoth baggage of misconceptions these students carried, thanks to media and popular culture mis-exposure. Further, when I asked if he has ever heard of a transgender male or male to female transition, this boy replied in Hindi, “I come from a good family (accha kandaan) ma’am, we don’t hear, or see any such things”. When I initiated a discussion about Equal Pay in one of the classes, another boy remarked, “Why are we still talking about feminism? Women go to work, don’t they? What more do you want to talk about?” During times when Nikki Minaj is a popular feminist icon, it’s increasingly difficult to defend the relevance of talking about gender issues.

In 2016 The Economic Times identified a 26% rise in sexual harassment cases in 50 companies including Wipro, ICICI and others. While these statistics and terminologies have become commonplace, our knowledge of the problem is only partial.  “Do you know how many false cases are filled under sexual harassment? Because of laws like Sexual Harassment at Workplace, these women take advantage of the situation”, a senior BMTC official once told me. I would argue here that while on the one hand such issues are on the rise, the ways to deal with it are not being addressed. Each incident of gender-based violence in our country is followed by the Government’s proposal to hire a committee of experts to tackle the problem (The Ryan International School case to quote a recent example). These committees constitute subject experts from the fields of social work and gender studies.

The unfortunate situation however is that the opportunities for subject experts in the discipline of Gender Studies is being stifled by misconceptions. Researchers and activists engaged in subject matters of this nature are branded as a threat to conventional, or “normal” ways of our society. They are usually perceived as man-haters, bra-burners, or hairy armpit Queers. No! Feminism is not about wanting a world without men, but the want for a world with all kinds of people; men, women, Queers, transsexuals, transgenders, sissy, butch, dykes, asexual, transvestites, and any new category that many arise.

It all started with the 12^th Planning Commission that ended in March this year which witnessed the annulment of several Women’s Studies departments across the country. The withdrawal of monetary support was intended at quashing critical voices and is viewed by some as an onslaught on the effort towards a gender egalitarian society. The irony, I believe, lies in the talks of women empowerment without defining what it essentially qualifies. As a representative voice from the Gender Studies community, I would like to highlight the efforts of organisations like Indian Association of Women’s Studies (IAWS) that are fighting for the future of our ideology and the future of researchers like myself. Unless our outlook about these issues don’t change, I’m afraid not much will.

The author, Sumathi Nagesh is a Research Scholar at the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of Hyderabad. Her work is based on Gender and Performance in the Theatre and Performance.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Wonder Women World.