Outsider-Within: The Sociological Significance of Dalit Women’s Life Narratives

Abstract

The article elucidates the doubly marginalized position of dalit women in the marginal community of dalits and highlights how these women make the creative use of their marginality and learning from their “outsider-within” status to articulate their lived experience and perspectives. The article analyses the novels of two dalit women writers from Tamil Nadu (India) – Bama’s Sangati Events (2005) and Palanimuthu Sivakami’s The Grip of Change (2006) – to discuss and explore the sociological significance of the two characteristic issues in these narratives: the interlocking nature of dalit women’s oppression, and their endurance and resilience. The perspectives of dalit women writers create new knowledge about their lives, families, and community, which provide a preparatory point for the development of a dalit feminist standpoint. Further, the exploration may help other marginalized sections or sociologists by putting greater trust in the creative potential of their narratives and cultural biographies.