The Hindu Lit for Life Unplugged: Meena Kandasamy on why the Left still does not know how to talk about sex
Poet and novelist Meena Kandasamy discusses her critique of the political Left's treatment of women and sexuality. She highlights how progressive rhetoric is sometimes weaponized to shame women and maintain patriarchal structures.
Why it matters
It provides a critical perspective on internal ideological conflicts within progressive political movements regarding gender and power.
Meena Kandasamy has never been shy about having her work challenge the Left — her own political community. For years now, this award-winning poet-novelist’s critique has taken the shape of Facebook posts, and tweets. Now, more recently, it takes the shape of a book that is a sharp and frankly hilarious take-down of the Indian manosphere.
“When you identify yourself with something, a movement, you not only have responsibilities but you also have duties. I have always been trying to point out what is happening within the Left which I think is problematic. One of the things that they have not yet come to terms with is how they treat women and how they treat sexuality,” she says.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in