Introduction

We consider now some ways in which consumption contributes towards the constitution and expression of recognized masculine statuses and identities. We purposely shift our attention away from consumption as such towards wider orientations on the use of economic resources—cash in particular—which inform consumption practices. Continuing from the previous chapter, we will talk about Kerala migrants. Over the past 30 years, not only has Gulf migration transformed the state's economic and social landscape, but the Gulf migrant—the prototypically successful and above all wealthy man—has come to represent the aspirations of many Malayali payyanmar (boys). Attracting thousands of men with the prospect of rapid economic progress, migration has accelerated their movement along a culturally recognized idealized trajectory towards mature manhood, while accentuating characteristics already locally associated with essentialized categories of masculinity. Exploring masculine orientations towards consumption through the lens of migration, four important local essentialized categories emerge. First, the gulfan, a term that refers to the migrant during his periodic visits home and immediately upon return. A transitional and individualistic figure, defined largely through relationships to cash and consumption, he is typically a deracinated and not fully mature male needing to be brought back into local life. During the period of reintegration and movement towards maturity following return, the gulfan must tread a balance between two extremes.