Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of migrant women from Northeast India who work in retail stores in malls in Delhi and Gurgaon, and the conflicting discourses of modernity and marginality which they negotiate at work and outside work. Managers of high-end retail stores in malls view these women as ‘modern’, ‘global’ and reflective of the aesthetic sensibilities of the brands they are hired to sell. For this reason, north-eastern women’s bodies and identities are ‘valued’ and ‘sought after’ by retailers and recruiters. Yet, outside, especially on the streets of Delhi, the same women whose aesthetic and modern attributes are valued at the workplace are subject to racial and sexualised stereotyping that labels them as ‘promiscuous’, ‘provocatively dressed’ and lacking in sexual respectability. This paper describes the spatial practices of north-eastern migrant women as inscribed by the shifting landscapes of modernity and marginality that they must negotiate as they reconcile their different public identities in the city.

摘要

本文探讨了印度东北部的移民妇女的经验，这些妇女在德里和古尔冈的购物中心的零售商店里工作，以及在工作和外部工作中谈判的现代性和边缘性的冲突论调。购物中心的高端零售店的管理者将这些女性视为“现代”，“全球”，并反映出她们被雇用出售的品牌的审美敏感性。因此，零售商和招聘人员“重视”和“追求”东北妇女的身体和身份。然而，在外面，尤其是在德里的大街上，在工作场所受到重视的审美和现代特质的同一位妇女，受到种族和性别刻板印象的刻板印象，称她们为“滥交”，“穿着挑逗”和缺乏性敬意。