Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

The impact of globalization, particularly on developing countries, is loosely viewed as a process of westernization. The conventional response to counter this process through the preservation of cultural tradition and a contested identity has often led to insistence on ‘moral purity’ and ‘indigenous values’. However, in an era of unlimited flow of information and access to knowledge, the viable response tilts primarily towards a process of cultural hybridization. This paper tries to capture this dilemma of Indian middle class in relation to an attire of girls and young women– shorts. Wearing of shorts in a traditional setup was generally viewed as an embodiment of western modernity and often frowned upon as vulgar in India. With the advent of globalization, attitude towards ‘shorts’ as an outfit gradually changed among the elite: it represented freedom and liberation of women. Steadily, this notion percolated down to average middle class and among them shorts has transformed from being vulgar to being progressive. The paper explores the reasons for this transformation of worldview among the middle class families of India and the resultant ambivalence that exists in being compelled to choose shorts as an outfit of modernity. Through a series of interviews among Indian girls and the people related to them in a small town, this paper attempts to comprehend the attitude towards the use of shorts. It examines the impact of globalization beyond the conventional perceptions of westernization by capturing the middle class Indian dilemma in dealing with cultural hybridization.