Caught in-between: social developments and young men in urban India

Abstract

The lives of young middle-class men in India are greatly different to their parents and older generations. As India economically liberalizes, there is a generational gap that has developed. Young men begin to start bridging this gap by living their lives through various negotiations and performances of appropriate masculinities in the contexts that surround them. Social developments in India mean that processes of consumption, urbanization and new practices of romantic and sexual expression have to be managed alongside older gendered expectations and responsibilities on young men. Through an ethnographic approach, this paper explores the social and cultural realities of young Indian men to understand how they are caught in-between and creatively manage their lives and relationships.

Keywords:

• India
• gender
• social development
• masculinities
• youth

Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank Prof. Eric Anderson for his encouragement and support. I’d also like to thank my supervisors Prof. Nandini Gooptu and Prof. Marcus Banks for their constant guidance. Finally, a big thanks to Nikhil Pandhi for being there.