The Breast Mother vs. the Tooth Mother

May 18, 2021 7:48 AM

Tishani Doshi writes about breasts and women's bodies in India. (CW: graphic descriptions of violence and sexual assault.) The breast in India is one of the most eroticized and policed body parts. From 8,000-year-old Harappan terracotta mothers with their suckling infants to Bollywood starlets cavorting under waterfalls with wet saris, the breast has been central to the idea of sex, maternity, nourishment and power. And as in many countries where mother-worship is practiced, the dichotomy between adoration and abuse is significant. The idea of a neutral breast in India? A breast just casually hanging around, being a functional exocrine gland, enjoying the sun? Impossible.
posted by MiraK (9 comments total)

Thanks for this.

Things I had to look up:
Chola apsaras: statues of apsaras (female spirit of the clouds and waters) from the Chola dynasty. Google Image Search.
Jawan: enlisted soldier, equivalent to private.
posted by zamboni at 8:25 AM on May 18, 2021 [4 favorites]

fascinating and horrifying. the quality of the writing: chef kiss. terrifically talented author.

A+ best of the web. ty.
posted by j_curiouser at 8:32 AM on May 18, 2021 [4 favorites]

Can any MeFites recommend effective organizations working to end this horror show and/or help victims? I'd like to donate.
posted by carmicha at 8:48 AM on May 18, 2021

I LOVE Tishani Doshi. Her poem Girls Are Coming Out Of The Woods is a masterpiece, a battle cry for our times.

Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods
BY TISHANI DOSHI
for Monika

Girls are coming out of the woods,
wrapped in cloaks and hoods,
carrying iron bars and candles
and a multitude of scars, collected
on acres of premature grass and city
buses, in temples and bars. Girls
are coming out of the woods
with panties tied around their lips,
making such a noise, it's impossible
to hear. Is the world speaking too?...
posted by MiraK at 9:18 AM on May 18, 2021 [7 favorites]

Beautifully written and gutting. I've put in some purchase requests for her work at my local library. Thank you for sharing!
posted by snerson at 9:23 AM on May 18, 2021 [2 favorites]

The percentages of legislators who have criminal charges against them, in particular charges of violent crimes and crimes against women, staggered me.

Additional annotation: Doshi mentions Indian newsmagazine The Caravan which you can pay to read online.
posted by brainwane at 9:47 AM on May 18, 2021 [4 favorites]

The reason for referencing her own breasts is explained immediately following those paragraphs, when she talks about the court case involving the girl whose breasts were felt up but it didn't count as assault because it wasn't skin-to-skin.

I suppose the link up isn't obvious to people who didn't grow up female-presenting in India. We've all had our breasts felt up in that exact way by that exact guy when we were 12. It's a rite of passage, very like being shamed for having flat chests, very like having larger chested indian sisters express envy for the flatness. Opening with a neat little trio of personal-transitioning-seamlessly-into-universal defining #breast moments in the life of an Indian girl served as the perfect setup for all the women whose breasts were cut off throughout the rest of the article. It was excellent writing.
posted by MiraK at 2:11 PM on May 18, 2021 [7 favorites]

Mod note: One comment removed. Complaining about the writing instead of engaging the content is a good way to drag threads off into dull side arguments that get in the way of thoughtful discussions of the linked content; please avoid doing that.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:40 PM on May 18, 2021 [1 favorite]

I keep thinking about this article. Thank you so much for posting it.
posted by travertina at 9:02 AM on May 19, 2021 [1 favorite]