“Speaking in Tongues”: Conceptualizing Femininities in Sidhwa’s An American Brat
Ms. Sana Imtiaz, Prof. Dr. SaiqaImtiazAsif

Abstract
Sidhwa’s novel An American Brat is significant because it unveils the diasporic identities of the women, in contrast with the traditional gender roles of the women in Pakistan. Interestingly, the novel problematizes the concept of the fixed identity, indicating the valences of the representations of the women in the novel. Critically analyzing these multiple feminine representation, the study analyses the responses of the marginalized, when incorporated with the center. The paper analyzes the novel using the model of Pessar and Mahler (2003) concluding that Sidhwa has presented the multiple representations of women of color, in contrast with the fixed, monolithic colonial representations, which render them incapable of reacting to the oppression. Such fixed politicized representations result from power relations and are highly motivated.

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