Kerala, Breasts, and the Tax That Wasn't

Kerala, Breasts, and the Tax That Wasn't(waatcoconut.substack.com)

8 points by self 39 days ago | 5 comments

According to the book, "The House of the Blue Mangoes", written by a man hailing from Kerala (a state in India) and rooted in its rich culture, pointed out to the bare breasting problem as one to the rigid social hierarchy in India and especially in Kerala. The women of the lower castes had to keep the breasts bare in front of the men of the higher castes. That was brutal but also a right fiercely claimed by the men of the higher castes. I didn't read the article beyond the first few lines but it felt as if the "Nair" helper woman was ridiculously rigid in keeping her upper parts bare but if your read the book, The House of the Blue Mangoes then you'd realise that the people belonging to the Nair community were considered lower to some other castes and therefore it's not the helper woman that was ridiculous, it's just the casteism. She was just being traditional as she was old. I'm not at all versed in the social structure of Kerala. My only source is the book that I mentioned twice.

lemonnuggets 39 days ago | |

The article does go on to address this claim that lower-caste women had to keep their breasts bare in front of men of higher castes. It claims that this cloth used to cover the upper body was a sign of status and not a gendered practice. Men (and women) of a lower caste, would also have to take of their upper cloth when in the presence of a woman (or man) of a higher caste. The authors point throughout the article is that the right lens through which the significance of the "cloth" is to be viewed is in terms of caste and status; not that of gender. Don't know enough about the details here to compare the references he used against yours but thought it'd be helpful to share what comes after those first few lines.

Guestmodinfo 39 days ago | | |

What you say is true but don't let the article divorce the sexual connotations from this practice so easily just because the article begs you to. It is centuries old dirty laundry coming to light so the article is an eyewash.

Which is easier to say, "let your women be bare in front of us men" or to say, "let all of you bare yourselves before a higher person."

I'm an Indian I understand that the "higher" castes are less in number than the "lower ones" so lots of social and cultural stratagem are used to maintain the hierarchy

anukin 38 days ago | |

I am a keralite and when I was growing up it was common to see old topless women. I don’t think the caste actually determined who could be topless or not. Mind you this was 1990s. This custom stopped altogether as that generation of old women passed away. Now you won’t find women swimming around in the public ponds or being topless. Also I think it’s extremely liberating that women could be topless without being subjected to lecherous gestures or stares which is the case now.