Intersections of Identity: Exploring Gendered Violence in Upamanyu Chatterjee's Weight Loss

This research paper investigates the theme of gender-based violence (GBV) through lens of intersectionality in Upamanyu Chatterjee’s novel Weight Loss (2006). By centring on the protagonist Bhola’s troubling interpersonal relationships, this study explain how Chatterjee critiques societal power structures through the examination of the intersections among race, gender, class, caste, and sexuality. Bhola’s predatory sexual behaviour serves as an embodiment of toxic masculinity, revealing his dominance and emotional detachment towards women a reflection of the patriarchal norms that facilitate gender violence. His exploitation of women from lower social class and marginalized caste backgrounds underscores the manner in which class and caste hierarchies augment the vulnerabilities of specific groups, thereby complicating the dynamics of power and violence. Furthermore, this research explores Chatterjee's depiction of the intersectional nature of GBV, positing that the experience of violence is intricately influenced not only by gender but also by class- and caste-based oppression. This paper contends that Weight Loss delivers a critique of the societal forces that inform gendered violence. By scrutinizing the interplay of identity markers such as race, class, and gender, the novel provides a critical commentary on the mechanisms of systemic oppression that sustain violence against women, rendering it a significant text for comprehending the phenomenon of GBV within the Indian context.

Keywords: societal power, toxic masculinity, inequalities, caste-based oppression, gendered violence