Volume: 19 Issue-01 (January-June) 2024

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A STUDY OF RUTH VANITA WITH AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL LENS FOR A CRITICAL REFLECTION OF HER LIFE

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research paper is to shed light on the autobiographical elements in the works of Ruth Vanita. Because a close observation of her works shows that her personal life has impacted her literary contributions to a great extent. In almost all her works there are autobiographical elements both direct as well as indirect. She is a Lesbian herself and it is a fact known to the world that she is married to a woman namely Mona Bachman. She tied the knot with Mona Bachman in the year 2000 and they are happily married since then. She is out and open about her same sex relationship with Mona Bachman and she works tirelessly to create awareness in India about same sex relationships and often demands equal respect and rights for people belonging to LGBT community and that’s why she is also known as a famous Lesbian and gay studies thinker and activist in India. In her works Ruth Vanita brings forward the issue of same sex love and desire primarily in Indian Subcontinent. She provides a panoramic view of the narrative around same sex relationships in India from ancient times to the present times through her works. And this mindset of the advocacy of same sex relationships is shaped by her own sexuality in the early years of her life she felt attracted nor towards men but women and at that time it was a bigger taboo than it is today. But she acknowledged her sexuality and stood up for it and opted to marry the love of her life a woman Mona Bachman. And from then onwards she devoted her life towards making India a better place for LGBT community because she understood the pain, suffering and humiliation that people belonging to LGBT community face in life because she has experienced it first hand because of being a Lesbian. And in her works she tries to explicate her personal experiences as a Lesbian in a fictional manner. And that is why majority of her work is autobiographical in nature

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