Unsafe Sex (Hardback)  | Released: 29 Mar 2016

Not too long ago, India woke up to the heart-rending horror of the Nirbhaya rape case. While the brutal violence against the victim sent shockwaves throughout the country, the rapists (as well as other men on the streets) caused further moral outrage by blaming the victim for being out at night and holding her responsible for her rape. What does this signify? Is there an ongoing visceral war waged by men against women? The Unsafe Sex addresses this phenomenon and provides a socio-historical and cultural context to explain why public violence against women is rooted in the binary within which they are viewed–women as, ideally, a source of dignity within the home, while being a source of shame outside it. Probing the intensification of this war on womens bodies, it delves into issues about their safety and security in an increasingly unpredictable world. Drawing from anthropology, myths, literature and film, history, sociology of class and change, and feminist theory, this book explores the reasons underlying a glaring fissure in our public life–cruelty towards women in public places.About the Author: Nalini Natarajan is Senior Professor of English Literature and Theory at the University of Puerto Rico. She has authored four books, including the critically acclaimed Atlantic Gandhi: The Mahatma Overseas (2013).Table of Contents: Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Sita Apaharan and Draupadi Vastraharan: Abduction and Disrobing in the Epics
2. Militarization and Mutiny: Safety and Sexuality for Peasant Women and Prostitutes
3. Gandhi and the �Purity� of Assaulted Women
4. Westernization and Latent Gender Violence
5. From National Symbol to Victim of a New �Freedom�: Bombay Cinema and Violence
6. Cut Down by the Cutlass: Violence against Women in Indenture
Epilogue
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
About the Author