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Bionote: Sukhmani Khorana is an Associate Professor in the School of Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales (Australia). Sukhmani has published extensively on media diversity, food in multicultural contexts, and the politics of empathy. She is the author of Mediated Emotions of Migration: Reclaiming Affect for Agency (2023) and The Tastes and Politics of Inter-Cultural Food in Australia (2018).
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This interview by Sourabhi Dutta Roy is featured in the book,
“ANONYMOUS WAS A WOMAN”:
an anthology of poems, short stories and interviews available worldwide via Amazon.
Here is the India link.
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TMYS: If we may ask something personal, has there been any phase in your life where your identity has been questioned? If yes, how did you steer the situation? What clarity in thoughts or state of mind is required to battle such instances? Tell me your story!
SK:
As a professional woman of colour in the Global North, I have relative privilege in many everyday life contexts and not so much in others. In new situations, I am often mistaken as younger or less experienced than I actually am, as people who look like me are still not readily associated with being senior academics or professionals. It is harder at earlier stages of your career, but what has got me through is not just self-belief. I have been mentored by excellent and selfless academics of all backgrounds, and this has inspired me to form my own communities of care. These are people I can rely on, who will understand my positionality, and who I can assist in return. Having a village is the only way to lean in, in my opinion.
TMYS: Toni Morrison once said, "I think that our expectations of women are very low. If women just stand up straight for thirty days, everybody goes, Oh! How brave!" The same goes for 'gentleman' behaviour. The most basic is often made to sound heroic. How do you think this dichotomy comes to play in terms of identity formation for all youth, irrespective of gender?
SK:
I think we still live in a very patriarchal society, though patriarchy manifests in different ways in different cultures. Over time, education and technology have helped those who identify as men, as well as those who identify as women, to challenge gender norms. However, there are also many instances of social media images and influencers reinforcing these norms instead of helping young people to realise their own identities. In other words, technology doesn’t necessarily liberate and we need to continue to shape the next generation through formal and informal education.
TMYS: Women have been stereotyped as 'emotional wrecks' and ‘cry babies’ and other such humiliating terms which have historically looked down upon their spontaneity in expressions. Your work on the role of emotions in inspiring social change is very interesting. How can the power of emotions in women ranging from corporate CXOs to village artisans, an urban house-help or a rural home-maker, contribute towards fostering a welcome change in mindset or behaviour?
SK:
My work on emotions pertains more to race rather than gender. One of the chapters looks at empathy in political leaders through the example of former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. I found that women are expected to be more caring leaders, and this works especially well for them in times of crisis, such as COVID-19. It would be a welcome change if this were to become more ‘normal’ for all leaders, regardless of their gender or occupation.
TMYS: Rehabilitation of any kind, whether it happens for medical or political conditions, creates a vacuum of forced identity and lost dignity. For a country like India, which is filled with refugee narratives, the difference of ideals is perhaps much greater than the united bond of its citizens. How have these featured in your research and writing? Would you like to share some touching stories/experiences you may have countered while conducting research on refugees and migration?
SK:
My work is focused on refugees in the Global North who are usually fleeing situations of persecution in the Global South. While most are escaping extremely harrowing circumstances, they don’t usually receive a warm welcome in the countries of their resettlement. In many cases, they have to wait several years in limbo in detention centres for their asylum cases to be processed. If they do eventually get refugee status, there is a further wait to get work rights, find housing, get education for their children, and most struggle to get jobs worthy of their previous experience or qualifications. Many also face explicit racist discrimination which erodes their sense of belonging in their new home. Having said that, my research on refugees and belonging has also found that many young refugees succeed when they find the right social networks and have the ability/opportunity to meaningfully contribute.
TMYS: Discourses on the 'Home' as a physicality often recount romantic or nostalgic notions such as safety, comfort, and identity. 'Home' as a defined boundary from the public realm and as a private space can be conceptualised as a gendered landscape too with specific roles assigned to women- daughter, wife, mother, etc. What is your take on this ever-evolving political trajectory of 'Home' with relation to women's individuality?
SK:
It is a mixed bag depending on what generation of feminists you talk to. For me personally, home can have connotations of both femininity and empowerment as long as it is a creative and nurturing space for the woman/women who inhabit it. Respect is key. There are many workplaces where women are not honoured, and therefore we can’t automatically put the public sphere on a higher pedestal. Most countries still also have a long way to go before they can genuinely provide safe spaces and health access to women in the public realms.
TMYS: I am reminded of the book, The Hungry Tides by Amitav Ghosh, where Piya, a diasporic woman who has never been to India before, smells Indian spices in a crab preparation on the ghats of Sunderbans. She goes on to connect this smell to a 'feeling of home' and familiarity even in an alien land among unknown people. Can you talk to us about food, its aroma, and how such an associative memory conveys women's adaptation stories?
SK:
Food is ever-present in the narratives of most migrant and refugee women. While it is easy to dismiss this as nostalgic or simplistic, there are many ‘personal is political’ messages woven into these stories. Whether these women are food bloggers, operating new pop-up restaurants, or writing novels, they are trying to challenge colonial and patriarchal norms of doing food and writing stories. They use familiar tropes to draw people in, but I think the essence of the work is much more complex.
TMYS: As per your observation, research and reading, how do you think media representation, or for that matter any Popular Culture representation of women have affected the female image in a negative or positive light? What do you think is the role of the new media in enhancing multiculturalism and diversity?
SK:
New media has given a voice to many marginalised communities who were previously misrepresented or under-represented in the mainstream media. Having their own social media accounts means they do not need intermediaries, can form their own communities, and can therefore talk back to incorrect or uninformed stories about them. However, we must again be cautious as having a voice does not always mean you are listened to.
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This interview by Sourabhi Dutta Roy is featured in the book,
“ANONYMOUS WAS A WOMAN”:
an anthology of poems, short stories and interviews available worldwide via Amazon.
Here is the India link.
***