Psycho-Cultural Construction of Gender in Community Expression in Odisha

Abstract

Gender is a popular area of engagement in social sciences. Socio-cultural knowledge influences the individual psyche and shapes the psychicpersonality. The process is complex, and both male and female play their respective role to develop an inclusive consciousness. Oral tradition and folk rituals represent such gender consciousness inbuilt in the contested narration and ritual symbols. Cultural psychology includes an interpretative approach to examine gender discourse through people's cultural expression. Here, an attempt has been made to examine the cultural expression of Odisha folklore and myths to explore the elements of gender equity against the inequalities. An attempt has been made to show how the womenfolk of Odisha represent the gender consciousness through their cultural expressions and religious practices in everyday life.