Hegemonic masculinities, caste, and the body: interactions in local and transnational spaces

Kaur, Navjotpal (2022) Hegemonic masculinities, caste, and the body: interactions in local and transnational spaces. Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

I frame the current dissertation in theories of hegemonic masculinity, geographies of masculinities, embodiment, and feminist political ecology. For this research, I conducted a total of 45 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with men belonging to the upper Jat caste in Punjab and Canada. The work is comprised of three standalone but interrelated research articles addressing Jat masculinities in local and transnational spaces, the relationship of Jats with the land, and caste embodiment. In the first article, I explore how upper caste Jat masculinities interact with space and arable land. That is, I address the geographical contingency of hegemonic masculinities and how they are produced, constituted, and contested in relation to the land. Findings suggest that ownership of arable land is crucial to the construction and performance of Jat masculinities and a threat to the loss of land gives rise to vulnerabilities and challenges to which men respond by strategizing their masculine performances. The second article considers how body and embodiment interact with caste and masculinities. In this article, I explore why caste visibility is important in the constitution of Jat masculinities and how caste visibility is achieved through the male body in local and transnational spaces. Findings suggest that the processes through which caste is embodied overlap with the principles of hegemonic masculinity and they both complement each other. The third article focuses on Jat men in transnational spaces in Canada. By exploring Jat men’s experiences as international students in Canada, I explore how landownership, caste identity and transnational communication shape Jat masculinities in transnational spaces. Findings suggest that landownership in Punjab remains an important determining factor for young men’s masculinities in Canada. I also investigate how these young men are ‘othered’ in transnational spaces and how their masculinities are negotiated in such contexts.

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