SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This article is a reflection on empirical data gathered in an ethnographic study of masculinity in a designated slum in urban Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. This gestures towards possible new scholarly projects for those interested in gender, development, or otherwise critically analysing the well-being of those marginalised in Kerala. This paper seeks to draw attention to processes of gendering specifically located in a slum. I put into dialogue “Kerala-specific” cultural studies, with its emphasis on the state’s political history, and masculinities studies at the interface of a liberalising state. I used the Kudumbashree development programme as an entry point to discuss development in Kerala, the quotidian experiences of men in the slum and greater questions of value and ethics, all entangled with ideals of masculinity. Examining masculinity in Kulamnagar brings to light facets of development, while liberalisation informs new practices of embodying masculinity