Gender Class and Reflxive Modernity in India

Book Details:

• Author: Jyothsna Latha Belliappa

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

• ISBN: 9781349960606

• Language: English

• Binding: Hardcover

• Pages: 196

• Release Date: 23-04-2022

• Package Dimensions: 4.3 x 3.3 x 0.8 inches

About the Book:

This book delves into how middle-class women in contemporary India navigate the complex cultural discourses of respectability and individualism, especially within the context of their work and family lives. Drawing from in-depth interviews with women employed in India’s IT sector, it explores the tension between the values of reflexive modernity (individualism) and collective familial bonds.

The book argues that although women in India have more personal and professional choices than before, these choices often come with heightened responsibility for the impact they have on their families and relationships. Consequently, women’s narratives of self are not simply individualistic but rather collective, shaped by their relationships with others. It examines how these women manage their careers, familial roles, and responsibilities in a society where neoliberal ideas are increasingly influencing gender roles and expectations. The work presents a gender-specific and culturally nuanced analysis of how women navigate modernity in India's evolving socio-economic landscape.

Contents:

1. Setting Out to Study Class and Gender in Contemporary India

2. Interrogating Reflexive Modernity

3. The ‘New’ Indian Middle Class Woman

4. Individualism and Responsibility: Women’s Relationships Within Their Families

5. Women’s Relationships with Paid Work in the Transnational Economy

6. Managing Paid Employment and Family Life

7. Relational Reflexivity, Individual Choice, and ‘Respectable Modernity’

8. Conclusion: The Collective Project of Self

About the Author:

Jyothsna Latha Belliappa is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Azim Premji University, India. Her academic work focuses on the intersection of class, gender, and modernity in India, with a particular interest in the experiences of women in the workforce.