Nation of men: paradigms and practices of gender in nationalist discourses

Abstract

The thesis is titled Nation of Men: Paradigms and Practices of Gender in Nationalist Discourses. The thesis studies how the slow yet steady process of evolution of nations and nationalisms did not take gender into account, treated its women populace inequitably in comparison to their male counterparts and the progress that were made in this regard. Hypothesizing a gender disproportion in the manners in which various nations are conceived, imagined and developed, the thesis delves into the biological reasons, historical impetuses, political motives and socio- cultural stereotypes that induce and sustain this gender disproportion and facilitate and validate the persisting gender injustice. Hypothesizing the titular statement that nation is a masculine concept, the thesis looks into various aspects of the nation that overtly and covertly display its masculinity and evaluate how promising is the masculine nation for the women in/out of the nation, particularly with regard to the Indian nation that is asserting its swelling masculinity on a daily basis. The thesis is divided into an Introduction, four chapters and conclusion and is an attempt to comprehensively study the existing discourse on nations and nationalism and to expose the lacunae in the traditional studies on nationalism carried out until the late 20th century in which explorations about the gendering of nations, gendering within the nations and the gendering of the national imaginary were conspicuously sparse. It attempts to bring to light the historicity of the practices of gender inequity and sexism and the means by which modern nations appropriated it. The thesis establishes firmly the apparent fact that nations have historically conceived male and female citizenship differently in terms of rights and duties and analyzes the obvious, yet largely unmapped connection between national and masculine traits and the national and feminine bodies. The thesis empathizes with the women cast out from the nation, figuratively and otherwise and studies the forthcoming prospect of the concept of nation and nationalism for these women. The thesis opens possibilities for novel means of conceiving nations in hitherto-unthought-of ways whereby the gender disparity can be bridged.