25/12/2025
“Why Young Z Generation Men are More Confident in Same-Sex Intimacies”
Reading Athugala and His Latest Creative Fiction Makara Pendanaya (මකර පෙන්ඩනය)
Introduction
In his latest novel, Makara Pendanaya, Emeritus Professor Dr. Athugala explores why young men today increasingly gravitate toward same-sex intimacies, framing the phenomenon through a psychoanalytical lens. The narrative examines how economic pressures, cultural hegemony, and rigid heteronormative expectations shape Generation Z’s approach to relationships, intimacy, and desire. Through the experiences of Sahan and Li, Athugala reveals how young men negotiate personal identity and affection in a world where parental authority, societal norms, and inherited traditions often obstruct heterosexual expression. The novel portrays same-sex connections, homosocial bonds, and bromances not merely as emotional substitutes, but as adaptive responses to structural and cultural constraints—a nuanced reflection on desire, autonomy, and modern masculinity.
In contemporary society, young men of Generation Z increasingly navigate intimacy through same-sex bonds—whether as homosocial friendships, bromances, or eroticized connections—finding them more emotionally secure and socially legible than traditional heterosexual relationships. This shift is not merely a matter of sexual preference but emerges from the profound pressures exerted by an unstable economic environment, rigid parental expectations, and entrenched cultural and hegemonic norms. In families where inherited values, social obligations, and economic ambitions dominate daily life, heterosexual desire is often constrained, moralized, or surveilled, leaving young men seeking connection, trust, and vulnerability elsewhere. Same-sex intimacy, by contrast, offers a relational space where emotional expression, loyalty, and desire can coexist with minimal judgment, creating a refuge from the suffocating demands of normative society.
Dr. Ariyarathna Athugala’s latest novel, Makara Pendanaya, provides a literary reflection of this generational phenomenon. Through the characters Sahan, a Sri Lankan youth, and Li, a Chinese peer, Athugala explores the pressures of cultural inheritance, parental expectation, and the complex negotiations of identity in a transnational Asian context (pp. 56–63). Sahan’s heteronormative desires are continually disrupted by societal and familial constraints, leaving him emotionally vulnerable and psychologically unsettled. In response, he develops deeper bonds with his male friend Gang, illustrating how homosocial and same-sex intimacy functions as both emotional support and a space for authentic self-expression (pp. 300–320). The novel reveals that such relationships are not mere deviations from heterosexuality but deliberate, culturally conditioned strategies for coping with hegemonic pressures, economic uncertainty, and the moral weight of inherited traditions. Athugala’s narrative captures the broader condition of Generation Z men: their yearning for connection and desire for intimacy, negotiated in parallel worlds of digital, social, and familial influence, where the traditional heterosexual ideal is often unattainable.
Through this lens, Makara Pendanaya becomes more than a story of romantic entanglement; it is a psycho-social and cultural investigation into why young men today increasingly find comfort, freedom, and emotional authenticity in same-sex bonds, exposing the tensions between inherited norms and lived desire, and offering a profound commentary on contemporary Asian youth navigating the pressures of modernity.
Emeritus Professor Dr. Ariyarathna Athugala has long stood as a transformative figure in Sri Lankan media and communication, challenging conventional frameworks of knowledge, culture, and representation. His fiction, pedagogy, and creative work blur the boundaries between literature, media, and cultural critique, inviting readers to confront the psychological, social, and ideological forces shaping contemporary life. Makara Pendanaya, his latest novel, continues this project, exploring the tensions between inherited cultural codes, modern youth desire, and cross-cultural encounters, particularly within the evolving Sri Lanka–China relationship. Through its symbolic narratives and intricate character dynamics, the novel becomes not just a story but a lens through which we can examine identity, intimacy, and the negotiation of desire under hegemonic societal pressures.
In short, as Dr. Athugala is an expert in film, cinematic aesthetics, and visual theory, this novel cannot be read in the conventional sense—as a smoothly flowing anecdotal story from beginning to end. Instead, the text functions as a cinematic object, designed to engage the reader both visually and theoretically. The narrative unfolds through a pathologized visual spectrum, requiring the reader to decode its meaning through a cinematic lens, in line with the Professor’s intent. I scrutinized numerous instances for visual engagement and was struck by how effectively the novel converges elements reminiscent of modern South Indian commercial fantasy cinema, offering a rich, imaginative, and cinematic reading experience.
Put differently, the novel can be approached through Roland Barthes’ methodology, where the contemporary virtual and digital context functions as an intertextual framework, allowing the author to reflect on human nature in the present scenario. Similarly, the triangular relationship between Sahan, Li, and Gang cannot be neatly categorized as gay, bisexual, heterosexual, or otherwise. It mirrors the fluid spectrum of desire characteristic of digitally mediated homosocial lives, dissolving conventional divisions between men and women. The unresolved, unfulfilled, and ill-defined desires of these characters reflect a continuum of eroticism and human intimacy, entwined with societal expectations and personal bonds, producing a nuanced commentary on the complexities of modern love, lust, and relational entanglements.
This insight becomes particularly striking when contextualized within the so-called flamboyant high cultures of Asia, encompassing rich Chinese, Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian traditions. Athugala’s narrative traces how these diverse cultural and philosophical values intersect with dominant heteronormative structures, toxic patriarchal norms, and residual feudal moralities, illustrating the tensions between inherited cultural authority and contemporary desires. The novel thereby offers a critical lens on how modern Generation Z men navigate intimacy and relational identity amidst the collision of high cultural ideals, hegemonic pressures, and the fluidity of erotic and emotional expression.
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