Papers by Ketaki Chowkhani
“Who will look after you when you are old and sick” is a question that is often asked to aging si... more “Who will look after you when you are old and sick” is a question that is often asked to aging single people, sometimes out of genuine concern and more often to chide them about how they missed the bus of marriage and coupledom. This question becomes more poignant during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for long-term older single people living alone. Under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007, children are required to look after their parents.1 While this act is undergoing some changes in recent times, it still does not include the role of non-kin in later life caregiving.2 The law, hence, does not recognize single people’s existence in old age, especially those who are never married and without children. Even legal heirs are not bound by the law
to look after their guardians.
Unlike elsewhere, the age of retirement in India is 60 years. Hence, those who are single and do not have children to look after them need to start planning for their old age sooner than those who have children, often from the ages of 40 and 50 onward. This demographic needs to already plan successfully aging alone, especially because they don’t have children to look after them, which renders them non-existent in the face of the law. Legally, they do not have “anyone” to look after them since they do not have children, but as I shall demonstrate, they socially have mobilized a network of support to counter the gaps in the law.
In this chapter, I examine self-care strategies long-term single people, specifically between the ages of 40 and 50, used during the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down to manage chronic illness and maintain health and well-being. The chapter uncovers how studying older single people’s lives contributes to understanding diverse strategies of self-care and reconfigures caregiving issues outside the traditional family, especially in the case where the law does not recognize their existence. The study provides us with a two-pronged insight, one into caregiving
practices among older single people living alone, and two, into successfully aging alone. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section examines the self-care practices employed by long-term single people living alone; the second section examines their social support system with regard to care and illness; and the third section theorizes care and aging from a singlehood standpoint.
Unattached- Essays on Singlehood , 2022
His research focuses on queer movement, queer religion, transgender-mobilization, queer consumeri... more His research focuses on queer movement, queer religion, transgender-mobilization, queer consumerism and Marxism and queer theory. He serves on the international advisory board of the Community Development Journal. This volume explores existing and emerging sexual cultures of contemporary India and the predicaments faced by abjected and sexual marginalities. It traces the sexual politics within popular culture, literary genres, advertisement, consumerism, globalizing cities, social movements, law, scientific research, the Hijra community life, (alternative) families and kinship and sites that define the cultural other whose sexual practices or identities fall beyond normative moral conventions. The chapters examine a range of connected sociological and political issues including questions of agency, judgments around intimate sexual relationships, the role of the state, popular understandings of adolescent romance, notion of legitimacy and stigma, moral policing and resistance, body politics and marginality, representations in popular and folk culture, sexual violence and freedom, problems with historiography, structural inequalities, queer erotica, gay consumerism, Hijra suicides and marriage and divorce. The volume also proposes certain transformative possibilities toward envisioning and (re)scripting sexual equalities. This interdisciplinary book will be important for those interested in sexuality studies, queer studies, gender studies, cultural studies, sociology, law, history, literature and Global South studies as well as policymakers, civil society activists and nongovernmental organizations working in the area.
Indian Journal of Medical Ethics , 2020
(Hi)Stories of Desire: Sexualities and Culture in Modern India Eds Rajeev Kumaramkandath and Sanjay Srivastava, Cambridge University Press , 2020
The intention of this article is to examine women’s experiences of
consuming pornography and to d... more The intention of this article is to examine women’s experiences of
consuming pornography and to discuss what these tell us about
female sexuality. The article attempts to open up a debate about
young women’s viewership of pornography in urban India, asking
what are the dangers and risks for them in viewing pornography
online; what are the possibilities for pleasure; and how are sexual
subjectivities and bodies constructed through their consumption?
Blogs, Magazine and Newspaper Articles by Ketaki Chowkhani
2020
Claire Manship belted songs out the window. Ketaki Chowkhani began barking at a stray puppy. Blak... more Claire Manship belted songs out the window. Ketaki Chowkhani began barking at a stray puppy. Blake Mitchell performed in drag. As millions of people grapple with isolation in a pandemic, those who live alone face a particular kind of solitude. More people live alone now than at any other time in history, a seismic shift from even a half-century ago, and one fueled largely by women's economic rise. Being alone and being lonely are not the same thing, of course, and many people who live by themselves spend little time alone. Until, perhaps, a pandemic hits. Weeks or months into the stay-at-home orders worldwide, we wanted to know how solo dwellers were faring. What were they doing to keep themselves occupied? What did they most long for? What did they feel liberated to live without? More than 2,000 readers shared their stories and their photos. Here are some of them.
The sexologist dispels a lot of misconceptions about intimate relations sexuality , Reuters SHA... more The sexologist dispels a lot of misconceptions about intimate relations sexuality , Reuters SHARE WRITTEN BY Ketaki Chowkhani SOURCE DNA Home » Analysis by Taboola You May Like Sponsored Links India Today DonateKart.com Student Sea Paatal Lok actor Jaideep Ahlawat on life after coronavirus: The stupid will remai… Help Labor Families Survive The Crisis After Her Weight Loss, Celine Dion Con rm What we Knew All along Dr Mahinder Watsa's name keeps cropping up as I conduct interviews related to my research on sexuality education in schools in Mumbai. A number of young people acknowledge Dr Mahinder Watsa's Ask The Sexpert column in the Mumbai Mirror as an important source of information on sex and sexuality. Dr Watsa, a wellknown sexologist based in Mumbai, has been writing columns for the last 60 years. His popular column has been in print in the Mumbai Mirror since 2005. An advocate of sexuality education, Dr Watsa does not shy away from answering questions regarding sex and sexuality with characteristic wit and humour. His latest book It's Normal (2015) draws on his rich experience of 45 years as a sexologist as well as answering around 40,000 queries from people, disseminating information, dispelling misconceptions and clarifying ideas about various aspects of sex.
Three cases of sexual assault and rape were reported against children in different schools in Ban... more Three cases of sexual assault and rape were reported against children in different schools in Bangalore in 2014. The perpetrators, in all three cases, were teachers, gym instructors, or others who occupied positions of power and were known to the children. Some of the preventive measures that have been suggested were to install CCTV cameras and change students' uniforms. Feminists have long pointed out that increased surveillance or restricting the movements of the victim or blaming the victim are not solutions to sexual assault. Other responses to these cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) also centre on creating awareness on CSA among 'victims' alone or teaching them safety and how to protect themselves from sexual assault . However, research suggests that instituting prevention programmes for the potential victim alone is not useful . Like all discourse on rape and sexual violence on women, the onus here is on the child to protect herself/himself/hirself. Insights from the recent debates on sexual violence on women must permeate into thinking about child sexual abuse too.
Over the last few days there seems to be sudden explosion in talking about sexual violence and ot... more Over the last few days there seems to be sudden explosion in talking about sexual violence and other forms of violence on women. A huge discourse is being created around what rape cultures are and how we are part of these cultures which produce and construct these very acts of violence. Sexual violence has been linked to sexist, misogynist a itudes, remarks and behaviour, and ranging from scriptural affirmations to popular songs. The rape cultures are discussed as existing within the spaces of homes, streets, offices, courts, police stations, public transport, universities and so on.
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Papers by Ketaki Chowkhani
to look after their guardians.
Unlike elsewhere, the age of retirement in India is 60 years. Hence, those who are single and do not have children to look after them need to start planning for their old age sooner than those who have children, often from the ages of 40 and 50 onward. This demographic needs to already plan successfully aging alone, especially because they don’t have children to look after them, which renders them non-existent in the face of the law. Legally, they do not have “anyone” to look after them since they do not have children, but as I shall demonstrate, they socially have mobilized a network of support to counter the gaps in the law.
In this chapter, I examine self-care strategies long-term single people, specifically between the ages of 40 and 50, used during the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down to manage chronic illness and maintain health and well-being. The chapter uncovers how studying older single people’s lives contributes to understanding diverse strategies of self-care and reconfigures caregiving issues outside the traditional family, especially in the case where the law does not recognize their existence. The study provides us with a two-pronged insight, one into caregiving
practices among older single people living alone, and two, into successfully aging alone. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section examines the self-care practices employed by long-term single people living alone; the second section examines their social support system with regard to care and illness; and the third section theorizes care and aging from a singlehood standpoint.
consuming pornography and to discuss what these tell us about
female sexuality. The article attempts to open up a debate about
young women’s viewership of pornography in urban India, asking
what are the dangers and risks for them in viewing pornography
online; what are the possibilities for pleasure; and how are sexual
subjectivities and bodies constructed through their consumption?
Blogs, Magazine and Newspaper Articles by Ketaki Chowkhani
to look after their guardians.
Unlike elsewhere, the age of retirement in India is 60 years. Hence, those who are single and do not have children to look after them need to start planning for their old age sooner than those who have children, often from the ages of 40 and 50 onward. This demographic needs to already plan successfully aging alone, especially because they don’t have children to look after them, which renders them non-existent in the face of the law. Legally, they do not have “anyone” to look after them since they do not have children, but as I shall demonstrate, they socially have mobilized a network of support to counter the gaps in the law.
In this chapter, I examine self-care strategies long-term single people, specifically between the ages of 40 and 50, used during the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down to manage chronic illness and maintain health and well-being. The chapter uncovers how studying older single people’s lives contributes to understanding diverse strategies of self-care and reconfigures caregiving issues outside the traditional family, especially in the case where the law does not recognize their existence. The study provides us with a two-pronged insight, one into caregiving
practices among older single people living alone, and two, into successfully aging alone. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section examines the self-care practices employed by long-term single people living alone; the second section examines their social support system with regard to care and illness; and the third section theorizes care and aging from a singlehood standpoint.
consuming pornography and to discuss what these tell us about
female sexuality. The article attempts to open up a debate about
young women’s viewership of pornography in urban India, asking
what are the dangers and risks for them in viewing pornography
online; what are the possibilities for pleasure; and how are sexual
subjectivities and bodies constructed through their consumption?