The Construction of the Feminine Beauty Ideal through Folk Songs: A Study of the Knanaya Wedding Songs of Kerala
Keywords:
Culture, Knanaya Folklore, Tradition of Praise, Feminine Beauty IdealAbstract
In several contexts, beauty myths propagated through literature are used against women. Folklore is a medium where we commonly find the description of a woman’s beauty in terms of her physical features. The study is an attempt to analyse the Knanaya Wedding songs in relation to the construction of the female beauty ideal. It initially places the Knanaya wedding songs in line with a few other traditions like the ancient Greek, Jewish as well as Kerala folk tradition and examines the commonalities. The study then advances an understanding of how a normative feminine beauty ideal is constructed and maintained through these cultural products. Attempts are also made to examine the Knanaya wedding songs through the lens of Judith Butler’s Gender Performativity and Foucault’s concept of ‘docile’ body.
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