Androgyny and Female Impersonation in India: Nari Bhav

Androgyny is an engaging subject of discussion and research in the present times. This volume makes an effort to understand concepts of androgyny and ‘nari bhav’ or sensibility of the feminine beyond the anatomy-directed definitions circumscribed within the dubious realm of the ‘third sex’, or ‘third gender’. As expressed through various literary and performative traditions in India that emphasize interrelatedness of art and society, the concept of ‘nari bhav’ is a deeply rooted cultural belief in the fluid interplay of the female and the male symbolized, for example, as Ardhanariswara. The belief that the constant interplay of duality engenders balance and harmony in both personal and social aspects of human life and the acknowledgment of the existence of male and female tendencies—physiological and/or emotional-psychological—within each individual has aesthetic validity, may be seen to form the basis of female impersonation in India. Such perception urges more inclusiveness in social attitudes, easier acceptance of different sexualities and ways of expressing gender. The volume discusses concepts of androgyny that permeate Indian cultural ethos and as expressed through female impersonators not only in religion, theatre and dance but also in contemporary performative mediums like films, television and the internet. The volume also presents interactions with performers of the dying art form of female impersonation.