Men in Mohiniyattam: An Ethnographic Study on Gender Binaries

Mohiniyattam is an Indian Classical Dance form that originated in the state of Kerala and is popularly referred as the "dance of the enchantress." As a historically female-dominated genre, men have experienced barriers to learning and performing Mohiniyattam due to gender-based norms and stigmas (that call into question their sexuality and label them as effeminate). But, since the 1980s there has been rising interest among men to learn and embody Mohiniyattam, although social and institutional agencies have continued to negate their ability to access the genre. This dissertation maps male dancers movements between spaces (gendered, artistic, and geographical) as they are taking up Mohiniyattam—upon moving out of the orthodox Indian society into the Indian diaspora of Toronto—and establishing cultural exchange and the transmission of their unique perspectives. This ontological study draws on ethnographic research methods utilized during fieldwork conducted in Kolkata, India, and Toronto, Canada. With three primary case studies and archival and Internet research, I explore the experiences and challenges of male Mohiniyattam dancers who are negotiating hetero-centric biases, gendered norms and stigmas within their socio-political contexts and the dominant cultural ideology, and I consider the broader impacts of these gender-specific limitations and the audience gaze on the embodiment of Lsya or Tandav (movement qualities) in the practice of Mohiniyattam.