(Re)locating (I)dentity With(in) Politicized (Re)presentation of Fe/Male Body in Kamala Das' Poetry

Oct 15, 2026

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This paper argues that Kamala Das’ selected poems relocate both feminine and masculine identity through politicized representation of the body. Das’ body imagery is treated as a medium for re-historicizing women’s pain, sufferings, and psychological trauma within patriarchal society. While the female body may appear submissive, it functions as an authoritative agent over the male body. The study also interrogates sexed/gendered identity discourses using Beauvoir, Butler, and Hall.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time9 min

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Introduction

Literature Review

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 7 No. 2; April 2016 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | Flourishing Creativity & Literacy | | | (Re)locating (I)dentity With(in) Politicized (Re)presentation of Fe/Male Body in Kamala Das’Poetry Sharmin Sultana (Corresponding author) Department of English, Comilla University Kotbari, Comilla-3506, Bangladesh E-mail: [shrmnsltn1@gmail.com](shrmnsltn1@gmail.com) Nadia Sarwar Department of English, Comilla University Kotbari, Comilla-3506, Bangladesh [E-mail: nadia_sarwar_35@yahoo.com](E-mail: nadia_sarwar_35@yahoo.com) Doi:10 .7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.2p.84 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.2p.84](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.2p.84) Received: 18/11/2015 Accepted: 19/01/2016 Abstract This paper is going to argue that the selected poems of renowned Indian poet Kamala Das are inclined to relocate both feminine and masculine identity through the politicized representation of body. Kamala Das’ representation of body in her poems has always been viewed as a medium of re-historicizing the pain, sufferings, and psychological trauma that a woman goes through in a patriarchal society. Though apparently female body seems to be submissive under patriarchal dominance but this paper reveals how female body in Das ’poems acts as a powerful agent over the male body. The objective of this paper is to analyze and evaluate kamala Das’ representation of body to understand the gender reality ina patriarchal society, to question the existing discourse of sexed/gendered identity, to find a new way of viewing to both female and male body. Echoing Beauvoir, Judith Butler and Hall, this paper is going to analyze how Kamala Das represents body as an important factor in her poems to fight back the normative concept of identity based on patriarchal sex and/or gender stereotypes. Keywords: identity, body, sex/gender, performativity, representation 1. Introduction With the specific analysis of the representation of both female and male body in Kamala Das’poem, a political (re)construction of (I)dentity based on sex/gender binary can be sketched. The female and male body are represented inmost of Das’poems with meticulous details and unconventional edge. Although, apparently, both the female and male body are articulated in her poems as the material expression of pain, sufferings and frustration through the voice of poetic persona, it unravels the complex construction of patriarchal power structure based on the heterosexual sex/gender binary. Therefore, this paper is going to argue that the representation of body in her poems are much politicized and functions as the substantial agency to relocate the feminine and masculine identity. The (hi)story of woman has long been absent in the realm of Indian discourse and literature. Interestingly, whereas, Body has always been used as a substance for one’s identity from time to time, woman’s body is always represented as an‘abject’; being viewed and/or represented’ by patriarchal gaze. Kamala Das, in her poems, breaks the silence by rejecting the ‘role’ playing and denying to be ‘represented’ through the patriarchal eye. Henceforth, she becomes the representing subject from the represented‘abject ’by reorganizing both feminine and masculine identity as a social construction. It will mainly focus on the three selected poems of Kamala Das; ‘The Looking Glass’, ‘The Freaks ’and‘An Introduction’, with references to the poems , ‘Forest Fire’, ‘Winter ’and‘The Old Playhouse’. Resonating Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler in the above mentioned poems, this paper will identify the relationship among body, sex, gender and identity, analyzing how female body acts as an authoritative agent over the male body. Moreover, with references to Stuart Hall, this paper is also going to argue that the selected poems of Kamala Das one way or other subve

FAQs

What is the central argument about identity and the body in Kamala Das’ poetry?

The paper argues that Das’ poems politicize body representation to relocate both feminine and masculine identity, challenging patriarchal sex/gender binaries.

How does the paper describe the role of the female body in patriarchal society?

It notes that the female body may seem submissive under patriarchal dominance, yet Das depicts it as a powerful agency that can act over the male body.

Which framework and concepts does the paper use to analyze Das’ representation of body?

It relies on ideas associated with Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, and Stuart Hall to examine how body, sex, gender, and identity are constructed and contested in the poems.

Oct 15, 2026

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