Strilinga Nirman by Mallika Sengupta [Hardcover]

"Simone de Beauvoir once said, ‘One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.’ This means that biologically, one is born with female organs—this is the natural truth. At birth, one does not know if they are female or male. Then, step by step, they are socialized into femininity: adorned with bindi, braided hair, playing with dolls, cooking, restricted from going outside, imprisoned by unscientific superstitions, and smeared with turmeric paste. They are gradually made feminine through various social restrictions, including codes of conduct. Society imposes artificial notions and divisions of gender on them. In behavior, conversation, literature, philosophy, music, poetry, humor, and clothing choices—this gender construction continues in every aspect.

This unending process of creating femininity is meticulously dissected in this book by poet and sociology professor Mallika Sengupta. She shows how a girl child slowly becomes the society’s ideal woman, how society tactically constructs femininity by using signs opposite to those considered masculine. How this gender division creates the seemingly invisible quicksand of inequality and deprivation for women, and how women's rebellion has been repeatedly suppressed—and still is. This book provides an extensive, thorough, and analytical exploration of these issues. Combining literature, history, mythology, philosophy, and various scriptures, with poetry and sociology mixed with personal experiences, it introduces a new field of feminist knowledge. This will challenge the established notions of a one-eyed society, and stir up new debates."