ABSTRACT
Shani Mootoo’s novels have received enormous attention from the critics for expressing the agonies of marginalized women and queer subjects belonging to Indo-Trinidadian community. In her novel, Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab, Mootoo engages with the theme of queer diaspora, addressing the complex issues related to ‘queer desire’ and its various forms of manifestations. While mapping the emotional equation between a queer character, Sid and her son, Jonathan, Mootoo’s narrative seeks to present queerness from the perspective of a conflict between an individual and a community. In the context of Indo-Trinidadian society, Sid’s queerness, in spite of her attempt to escape from the restrictive social structure in Trinidad, remains a private issue, foregrounding the suppression of her desire by the dominant Hindu culture. Sid’s death, followed by Jonathan’s performance of Hindu funeral rituals, demonstrates the annihilation of queerness under the influence of Hindu religious rites and rituals. This essay attempts to deal with Mootoo’s perspective on queerness, elucidating the subtle conflict between the Hindu communitarian belief system and the expression of ‘queer desire’ in Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab.
