Abstract: Contemporary literature increasingly questions fixed ideas of gender and explores identity as shaped by family, culture, caste, class, sexuality, religion, and social expectations. This paper examines gender roles and identity in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, Mahesh Dattani’sTara and Dance Like a Man, and Perumal Murugan’s One Part Woman. Using feminist criticism, Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, R. W. Connell’s concept of masculinities, and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectionality, the study explores how these texts represent patriarchy, femininity, masculinity, and social control. The analysis shows that gender identities are socially constructed and continuously negotiated. The selected works also demonstrate how literature challenges traditional gender roles and exposes the influence of caste, family, institutions, and cultural expectations.

Keywords: Gender, Identity, Contemporary Literature, Feminism, Patriarchy, Masculinity, Indian Literature.