“I’m Ordering Ten Copies of the book Rightaway, Thambi”
Programmed Selves | Ms. Catherin Sabu
#bookreview
This morning, I had scores of students visiting our office to discuss and to interact with us on higher studies.
I also had a brief meeting with our vibrant Associate Deans of International Programmes – Dr. Serena and Dr. Arun (whom I call the angels of our office) 😊 on a few important matters.
I was also overjoyed to have a special guest today in our Office – Dr. Rama Subbiah, the vibrant Principal of the renowned Mannar Thirumalai Naicker College (Autonomous), Madurai, who had come along with two of his Heads of the Departments. It felt so joyous to see Dr. Subbu Anna today.
I was so happy to learn about Ms. Lekhaa’s new assignment – a Bootcamp that she’s coordinating along with the MCC-MRF Innovation Park - a “Gamified Entrepreneurial Training Programme” that is led directly by actual “Startup Founders” rather than academic instructors in the last week of May 2026.
Then I had Ms. Catherin Sabu presenting me her first publication titled, Programmed Selves, which is now available on Amazon as well.
She also gave me a beautiful card from Mr. Ben, that he had personally handcrafted for me! Ben is one of my favourite students, and an efficient Quiz Master at Think Tank! Thank you dear Ben. You really made my day today.
Coming back,
I handed the copy of the book, Programmed Selves to Dr. Rama Subbiah, Principal, MTN College, Madurai.
Dr. Rama Subbiah, read through the book, and the title of the book intrigued him the most. When she explained in a nutshell the gist of the book, and the significance of its title, he felt so happy, that he immediately ordered for ten copies of the book for his College Library, and he also said that he’d invite her to give a lecture at his College sometime later this year. Congrats Catherin. We are so proud of you.
On that same vein, me thought of presenting a short review of her book here, for our readers.
Well, it is indeed a profound joy to see our student Catherin Sabu – who has just completed her five years of literature at MCC, authoring a very highly insightful book that foregrounds a highly relevant central premise: in today’s world, gender is no longer just socially conditioned by family and culture; it is algorithmically programmed by the screens that we hold in our hands – and this algorithmic conditioning in social media not only constructs but also subtly reinforces modern gender norms.
Catherin foregrounds Laura Mulvey’s “Male Gaze” and Stuart Hall’s representation theories in the context of Instagram filters, meme pages, and the exhausting pursuit of the “that girl” aesthetic that is widely disseminated on social media.
Moreover, the book also presents a highly empathetic perspective on masculinity to examine the emotional isolation of young men. It highlights how their vulnerabilities are commercialised into “masculine discrepancy stress” by an “Algorithmic Broligarchy”.
The book scores skyhigh in contrasting the quiet, habit-forming gender expectations of a traditional Malayali household (“Kalloor House”) with the liberating, nonchalant academic space she found at Madras Christian College.
Tweaking a bit on Mulvey’s concept of the gaze, Catherin highlights the Digital Gaze and how young women are forced to self-curate and filter their identities, not out of vanity, but as a defence mechanism against the constant surveillance of comment sections and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV).
On this note, it’s indeed quite heartwarming to note that, she positions literature and critical thought as our best remaining tools for unlearning these programmed binaries, allowing us to humanise others before we judge them.
In a world where we are constantly filtered, curated, and quantified through the Digital Gaze, Catherin’s book offers a beautiful rebellion - reminding us that humans are not data to be processed, but poetry to be understood!
Therein lies the success of her maiden publication!
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