VIVA VOCE
GENDER DISSENSION: A STUDY ON TRANSGENDER WITH REFERENCE TO THE NOVELS, A
GIFT OF GODDESS LAKSHMI BY MANOBI BANDOPADHYAY, AND BEING JAZZ: MY LIFE AS
A (TRANSGENDER) TEEN BY JAZZ JENNINGS
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO BHARATHIAR UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH
BY
P. JUDY PETER
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
DR. V. UMADEVI
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN ENGLISH
POST GRADUATE & RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH,
GOVERNMENT ARTS COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS),
COIMBATORE-18.
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER II: THE INNER TURMOIL OF JAZZ AND MANOBI
CHAPTER III: NAVIGATING THE PHYSICAL STRUGGLES OF JAZZ
AND MANOBI
CHAPTER IV: SOCIOECONOMIC BATTLE AS TRANSGENDERS ON
TWO FRONTS
CHAPTER V: SUMMATION
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I
▪ Introduction about LGBTQ, Queer theory, Gender and culture.
▪ Major trans writers and their works are introduced.
▪ Short descriptions about the novels,
by Manobi Bandopadhyay, and
by Jazz Jennings are provided.
▪ Judith Butler’s “gender performativity” is explained.
▪ The hypothesis and the major objectives of the
comparative study is added.
GENDER? / GENDER ROLES?
▪ “Queer theory” - LGBTQ
▪ Some of the major trans writers or transwomen
writers are: Kalki Subramaniam, Calpernia Sarah
Addams, RykaAoki, Jan Morris, Living Smile Vidya,
Vijayarajamallika
by Manobi Bandopadhyay, and
by
Jazz Jennings are taken for this comparative
study
not only speaks about
Manobi's personal life but also unravels her
professional accomplishments as an esteemed
scholar and educator.
India's first transgender college principal
▪ Shattered social barriers
▪ Brought attention to the importance of the
inclusion and representation of the trans
community in the educational landscape.
▪ The second book chosen is
a foreign work.
▪ This work is a candid memoir written by Jazz
Jennings, a prominent transgender activist and
television star.
▪ She shares her personal experiences, struggles,
and triumphs as a transgender teenager coming
to terms with her authentic self.
‘GENDER PERFORMATIVITY’
- JUDITH BUTLER
▪ According to Butler, the meaning of gender depends on
the cultural framework within which it is performed.
▪ And hence it defies fixities and universalities, because
gender is a continuous performance, acquiring new
meaning with each repeated performances or citations
depending on the context in which it occurs.
▪ She says that gender is performative and argues that
gender is “real only to the extent that it is performed”
(Gender Trouble).
HYPOTHESIS
▪ There is nothing called gender as per the “gender
performativity” theory of Judith Butler. According to this
theory the gender minorities should be accepted as they
are. Whichever country they belong to, they must be given
their right to lead a liberal and peaceful life. They should
not be caged and restricted due to the traditional and
cultural barricades. A proper identity should be provided to
this people to lead a life with self-respect.
OBJECTIVES
▪ To compare the plight of the trans community in
India and other foreign countries.
▪ To bring out the mental struggle and physical violence
faced by the trans community.
▪ To make the point clear that gender is socially
constructed as per Judith Butler’s ‘Gender
Performativity’ theory.
CHAPTER II
THE INNER TURMOIL OF JAZZ AND
MANOBI
CHAPTER II
▪ This chapter includes the struggles that the trans
community had to face with reference to the selected
novels A Gift of Goddess Lakshmi by Manobi
Bandopadhyay, and Being Jazz: My Life as A
(Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings.
▪ Focus is given to the mental struggles that these
gender minorities had to undergo.
CHAPTER III
NAVIGATING THE PHYSICAL
STRUGGLES OF JAZZ AND
MANOBI
CHAPTER III
▪ This chapter speaks aloud the physical struggle
that the trans community had to face both from the
society and family.
▪ The struggle of the trans people to survive is also
elaborated by bringing in the life experiences of
both Manobi and Jazz from the novels A Gift of
Goddess Lakshmi by Manobi Bandopadhyay, and
Being Jazz: My Life as A (Transgender) Teen by Jazz
Jennings.
CHAPTER IV
SOCIOECONOMIC BATTLE AS
TRANSGENDERS ON TWO
FRONTS
CHAPTER IV
▪ This chapter brings out the upper hands of the
society and its norms over a trans community as
expressed in the novels, A Gift of Goddess Lakshmi
by Manobi Bandopadhyay, and Being Jazz: My Life
as A (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings.
▪ In this chapter Judith Butler’s “Gender
performativity” is applied to the study to destroy the
sexual indifferences that prevails in the society
especially in India.
CHAPTER V
SUMMATION
CHAPTER V
▪ Includes the analysis of the data collected from the trans community.
▪ Includes the futuristic vision of a better society where all are treated equally.
▪ Further scope of study is added.
▪ This chapter serves to be the summation of the entire study.
PROJECTION OF THE VIDEOS
AND A SITUATION SHOULD ARISE WHERE THE GENDER MINORITIES ARE
ALSO TREATED THE SAME WAY AS A COMMON CITIZEN IS TREATED. THEY
MUST NOT BE CONSIDERED AS STRANGE CREATURES, RATHER THEY SHOULD
BE RESPECTED AS A COMMON MAN IS RESPECTED IN SOCIETY.
“IRRESPECTIVE OF THE COUNTRY/ CULTURE / TRADITION / SOCIAL NORMS”
FURTHER SCOPE OF STUDY
▪ Further study can be carried out more elaborately by using the psychoanalytic approach.
Also, research can be carried out using the scientific approach in order to
understand the change that take place in their biological system. Further,
research can be done using the sociological approach as the main string. The
researchers can have wide interpretation on the plight of the “trans people.”
