Transcending Gender Boundaries: A Mapping of the Alternative Masculinities of Lord Krishna
Keywords:
myth, iconography, alternative masculinity, divine masculinity, redemptive masculinityAbstract
Myths provide opportunity for a fundamental enquiry into the human condition being collective psyche of the Indian society which sustains its belief system and governs its way of life. Lord Krishna, the dark enigmatic mythical god who is closely associated with romance, love and eroticism remains a paradox in Indian ethics, politics, dharma and sexuality. An incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna exhibits the female traits of the former and is not a strictly masculine figure in the socio-religious and cultural space of the nation. This paper attempts to investigate the non-hesitative gender-fluid nature enshrined in Krishna and aims to study how the epic resists the hegemonic notion of masculinity, opening up an arena of alternative masculinities, especially redemptive masculinity. It also inspects the reconceptualization of the image of Krishna and its changing iconography in popular culture, with special focus on identity politics.
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