Rooted cosmopolitan identity and internalized homophobia in Farzana Doctor's Stealing Nasreen

Shobana Jeyasingam; Manimangai Mani; Rosli Talif; Mohammad Ewan Awang

doi:10.5817/BSE2020-2-10

Rooted cosmopolitan identity and internalized homophobia in Farzana Doctor's Stealing Nasreen

Vol.46,No.2(2020)

Shobana Jeyasingam Manimangai Mani Rosli Talif Mohammad Ewan Awang

https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2020-2-10

Stable URL (handle):
http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/143213

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Abstract

Rooted cosmopolitanism is a concept espoused by renowned philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah that proposes individuals adhere to two inter-related strands to construct a rooted cosmopolitan identity. The first strand advocates that one puts faith in the equal acceptance and fair treatment of all people regardless of race, gender, or affiliation while the second strand denotes that one should stay rooted in one's own culture and familial values. As a marginalized community, the LGBTQ face various struggles which jeopardize their ability to construct a rooted cosmopolitan identity. Thus, Farzana Doctor's Stealing Nasreen will be examined to discover how an Indian migrant character struggles to construct a rooted cosmopolitan identity in her new home country, Canada, as a result of having internalized homophobia. Internalized homophobia is developed when societal stigma, family values and upbringing that demoralize the LGBTQ are redirected internally resulting in insidious inner conflicts.

Keywords:
rooted cosmopolitanism; rooted cosmopolitan identity; internalized homophobia; Indian diaspora; migrant fiction

Pages:
181–194

References

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