Write an essay which discusses how the author(s) in question engage with gender roles, either to subvert traditional understandings of gender or else to uphold normative understandings. Some questions...

Last Name: 2
Name:
Course:
Professor:
Date:
Title: Shyam Selvadurai, “Pigs Can’t Fly”
Contents
Introduction    3
Authors Engagement with Gender Roles    3
Femineity & Queerness in Arjie    5
Rejecting Biological Determinism    6
Defying the Social Roles & Gender Dysphoria    7
Conclusion    8
Works Cited    10
Introduction
Shyam Shelvadurai’s “Funny Boy” is more of a post-colonial theory that has depicted the aspects of sexuality Gender dysphoria and queerness. This particular essay focuses only on argumentative notes where the author has resisted the essentializing disclosures implied in the country's national and sexual ideologies. The author has constantly focused on the types of gender roles and behaviours of the characters presented in the novel. It is observed that the author has projected traditional gender roles to the other characters except for two characters Arjie and Meena. But this particular exception displays the limitations and the confinements of society regarding gender roles and sexuality in the modern context. With the violence and the aspects of inflammatory punches that were constantly used to abuse, the femininity of Arjie projected the heteropatriarchal violence that existed in the society. This particular essay shall focus on the arguments proposed in terms of gender roles and sexuality as a spectrum of queerness in a 5-year-old boy who has to face violence and abuse because of the traditional understanding of gender.
Authors Engagement with Gender Roles
Published in 1994 the novel "Funny Boy" is set in Colombo the capital of Sri Lanka with the background of the riots of 1983. The novel is narrated from the point of view of a 7-year-old Arjie and his experiences in the family. Pigs Can't Fly is the first chapter of this novel that has depicted his experiences in his early life in expressing his gender identity. The author has subsequently focused on the aspects of gender roles that have been pre-determined. This particular young boy has to face violence and abuse from his family for elevating his gender identity or sexual identity. The author has projected the character of Meena one of Arjie's cousins who is again playing an opposing gender role by participating in the game of cricket with the boy's group.
The author has invariably projected held the aspects an element of expression in childhood which are the evident notes of the unique identity that the character possesses. It is effective to argue that the particular story effectively focused on the constant reinforcement of the gender rules which is prominent in Asian society. This particular literary work has effectively focused on the question of gender that has been in existence throughout history. It ignited the aspect of gender which has separated itself from the traditional view of the biological sex of male and female. The author has engaged the aspect of masculinity or femineity as not just a binary concept. Biological sex and gender identity may not be the same which is invariably depicted by the author against the traditional norms of gender roles. Arjie in spite of being a boy loves to play "bride-bride" with the girls while Meena being a girl prefers to play cricket and leads the team of boys. This aspect of gender roles is opposing from the point of view of society and the family (Lo). But the author has tried to relate the instincts of an individual's sexual identity and the difference that arises because of the differences between the biological sex and sexual identity.
It can be argued that the author has focused on the definition of gender which has turned into a sense of identity a way for an individual to feel different from the other individuals around them. It is also evident to note that the author has focused on the gender's sense of freedom that cannot be affected by the biological sex or the physical structure of an individual. It is an innate aspect that automatically develops when a child starts growing and begins socializing (Oli). Arjie is the protagonist who portrays that gender roles are not determined by their biological sex. It is obvious that cultural traditions have heavily influenced gender roles. In Asian society playing some games like "bride-bride" is...