Many Masculinities: Reading Stories from Shedding the Metaphors by Nandini Sahu

Abstract

This paper analyses some of the selected stories from Shedding the Metaphors and tries to show the different types of masculinities in the male characters influenced by many factors such as class, caste, age, nationality and identity. It is an attempt to read the selected stories in the light of ‘Many Masculinities’ which emphasizes that there are multiple ways to be masculine, challenging traditional norms and stereotypes that limit masculinity to certain traits or behaviours. This acknowledges the existence of various masculinities, ranging from dominant or hegemonic forms of masculinity associated with power and privilege to marginalized or subordinated masculinities that may face discrimination and social pressures. R. W. Connell provided a useful theoretical account of gender in her book Masculinities which has become a classic work on the nature and construction of masculine identity. Connell argues that there is not one masculinity, but many different masculinities, each associated with different positions of power.

This paper recognizes the importance of deconstructing and challenging notions of masculinity, promoting and accepting the diverse expressions of gender identity for all individuals. In the present chapter, seven out of twelve stories have been selected from Nandini Sahu’s Shedding the Metaphors, and by reading the selected stories in a new way, a critical analysis has been conducted on various types of masculinity and it tries to show how its form is changing nowadays.