Work In Progress Seminar

The New Indian Man

Dr. Michiel Baas

23rd October 2014, 6pm

Level 1 Common Lounge

Register at dev-tembusu-nus.pantheonsite.io

India’s economic growth has come with new ideas of the ‘ideal’ male body.

Portrayals of such bodies have become extremely prevalent. In this talk I will deiscuss what this new ‘visibility’ reveals about India. Using examples from recent fieldwork in a small neighbourhood gym in Delhi among members of a bodybuilding federation., I will focus on the profession of fitness trainer. Who are these Indians who find employment in the fitness industry, where do they come from in terms of personal and family backgrounds, and where are they heading? The shapes and size of their bodies is not only a new way of generating income, it can also lead to social mobility. But, even though this body can make up for an apparent lack in ‘middle classness’, climbing up the social ladder is complex. The process of the new Man climbing reveals the complex layers of class and status in Indian society.