Bedford Public Library

Good Girls marry doctors, South Asian American daughters on obedience and rebellion, Piyali Bhattacharya

eng

Includes bibliographical references

contains biographical information

no index present

essays

Good Girls marry doctors

bibliography

952139129

Piyali Bhattacharya

South Asian American daughters on obedience and rebellion

This anthology examines the multiple facets of daughterhood in South Asian American families. The voices in this volume reveal how a Good Girl is trained to seamlessly blend professional success with the maintenance and reproduction of her family's cultural heritage. Her gratitude for her immigrant parents' sacrifices creates intense pressure to perform and embody the role of the "perfect daughter." Yet, the demand for such perfection can stifle desire, curb curiosity, and make it fraught for a Good Girl to construct her own identity in the face of stern parental opinion. Of course, this is not always the case. Certain stories in this collection uncover relationships between parents and daughters that are open and supportive while also being exacting. Many of the essays, however, dig into difficult truths about what it is to be a young woman in a world of overbearing cultural expectation. Good Girls Marry Doctors is filled with honest stories, difficult and joyous, heartbreaking and hilarious, from a diverse array of powerful women. These narratives combine to expose struggles that are too often hidden from the public eye, while reminding those going through similar experiences that they are heard, and they are not alone

The cost of grief / Tanzila Ahmed -- My mother, the rebel / Jabeen Akhtar -- The fantasy of normative motherhood / Roksana Badruddoja -- The photograph of my parents / Neelanjana Banerjee -- The politics of being political / Piyali Bhattacharya -- Fair game / Madiha Bhatti -- Daughter of mine / Meghna Chandra -- Flipping the script : finding the love of my life while writing the book of my heart / Sona Charaipotra -- Good girls become doctors / Sayantani DasGupta -- Subterfuge : on how to be obedient while rebelling / Tara Dorabji -- Good girls pray to God / Triveni Gandhi -- Someday never comes / Rajpreet Heir -- Affording the perfect family / Leila Khan -- Acting the part / Rachna Khatau -- Becoming a reluctant breadwinner / Swati Khurana -- Modern mythologies / Surya Kundu -- Without shame / Ayesha Mattu -- The day I found out I was a witch / Fawzia Mirza -- "The only dates are the ones you eat" and other laws of an immigrant girlhood / Nayomi Munaweera -- Patti Smith in the dark / Jyothi Natarajan -- What it looks like to grow / Ankita Rao -- Breathe / Phiroozeh Petigara -- Amma / Hema Sarang-Sieminski -- Draupadi walks alone at night / SJ Sindu -- Cut / Natasha Singh -- Operation make my family normal / Mathangi Subramanian