Gendered Dimensions Of Psychological Suffering And Mental Distress In Sri Lanka
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2024
Published In
Handbook On Sex, Gender And Health: Perspectives From South Asia
Abstract
Psychological distress and dysfunction are entangled in the norms and moral visions that govern everyday gendered relations. Three projects that concern everyday life in Sri Lanka offer illustrations of this entanglement. One addressed the high rate of suicide-like acts among rural girls. Such acts, which are rarely fatal, typically take place during familial conflicts about daughters’ sexual propriety. The second project focused on mothers with a child with severe autism. The women commonly reported that their in-laws believed that they had caused the child’s condition, and many had encountered severe marital strife. Moreover, every mother had struggled to find knowledgeable medical practitioners and suitable educational facilities. The third project focused on the developmental histories recounted by gay men and lesbians. During childhood and early adolescence, both boys and girls engaged in gender-atypical activities; neither peers nor adults objected to these activities. In their early teens, however, “feminine” boys became objects of ridicule by other boys and disapproval by their fathers. Later, as sexual feelings toward other boys emerged, boys experienced confusion and guilt. Some boys became deeply depressed; some engaged in self-injurious cutting; one made a suicide attempt. The lesbians, by contrast, said that “masculine” qualities (e.g., an interest in sports) were positively regarded throughout girlhood and adolescence. Most did not become sexually active as adolescents. The case examples illustrate some ways in which conventional cultural ideologies concerning women, as well as prejudicial moralities regarding same-sex desires, produce personal distress and disrupt family relations.
Keywords
Psychological distress, Sri Lanka, Female sexual purity, Suicide-like acts, Autism spectrum disorder, Mother-blaming, Homophobia
Published By
Springer Nature Singapore
Editor(s)
T. S. Ravindran, M. Sivakami, A. Bhushan, S. F. Rashid, and K. S. Khan
Recommended Citation
K. Munasinghe, Jeanne Marecek, and U. Arambewale.
(2024).
"Gendered Dimensions Of Psychological Suffering And Mental Distress In Sri Lanka".
Handbook On Sex, Gender And Health: Perspectives From South Asia.
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-19-9265-0_9-1
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-psychology/1221
