Dr Bidisha Pal, Assistant Professor, Department of Literature and Languages and research scholar Mr Biraj Biswas has authored a book chapter titled “Interrogating Fragile Masculinity in Mahasweta Devi’s Breast Stories” in the book Beyond the Hegemonic: A Global Exploration of Theory and Praxis of Men and Masculinities.

The book chapter study attempts to analyse the precarious and fragile aspects of patriarchal manhood embedded within traditional hegemonic and hostile masculinity and its mechanisms, intended to renounce femininity and perpetuate male dominance over hierarchic societal order. Each narrative in the anthology Breast Stories (1997) revolves around the precarious lives of marginalised women who struggle with various challenges and societal constraints perpetrated by uncontested hegemonic masculinity. With the implication of scholarly theoretical frameworks developed by R W Connell, Michael Kimmel, and Michael Kaufman, the study contextualises gender-shifting roles and sheds light on how the marginalised women subvert and transgress their subordinate position against masculine stereotypes, and unveil male vulnerability, offering a counter-narrative.

The book chapter catalyses a discussion towards an intersection and interdisciplinary research in the field of gender studies and masculinity studies as well as marginality studies with marginalised women as the central subject of study.