New book on gender, youth, and liberalization

Attention Kerala scholars!  I just finished reading an excellent book on youth, gender, education, consumption, and liberalization in contemporary Kerala by the anthropologist Ritty Lukose.
Many of the arguments in Liberalization’s Children really resonated with my experiences (as a female) from this past summer in Kerala (one reason I really liked the book). Lukose’s book [...]

Read Full Post »

Malayalee Matrimonial Ads

Malayalee Matrimonial Ads are fascinating, and give one strange insight into the ideals of this society. One the one hand, you have ads with the following language (usually in the so-called “cosmopolitan” section):
-Caste no bar
-Language no bar
-Mixed cultured man looking for bride
-Seeks educated bridegroom
-Seeks employed, educated bride
On the other hand, there is also this [...]

Read Full Post »

International film festival!

Thanks to the help of a fellow classmate’s host family, we’ve been lucky enough to quickly secure passes to Kerala’s international documentary and short film festival here in TRV.*
I’m looking forward to seeing many of the films, especially one in particular, given my earlier posts: Bleach my Skin White, a film from the [...]

Read Full Post »

Has Frieda been photoshopped?

The makeup company L’Oreal received a lot of heat recently regarding possible photoshopping of the singer Beyonce (to give her lighter skin).
There are similar questions about Frieda Pinto, the Indian actress from Slumdog Millionaire.
I personally don’t think she has been photoshopped. She already is light-skinned for an Indian. Plus, if her skin [...]

Read Full Post »