Here’s a completely different take on being transgender:
When Lord Rama, hero of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, returned to the city of Ayodhya after 14 years in exile, he found a crowd of transgender people waiting for him on the banks of the river Tamsa. They had ignored Lord Rama’s order to his male and female followers not to wait, as they considered themselves neither. Taken by their devotion, he blessed them, elevating them to demigods.
Today, after centuries of ostracism, India’s transgender community is challenging the Hindu religious establishment in an effort to reclaim that status. The face of their struggle is the trans activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, who at this year’s Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, commanded her followers to bathe at the confluence of the three holy rivers of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati. Hindus believe doing so during the Kumbh – the world’s largest religious gathering – absolves one of sins and aids in salvation. For Tripathi’s newly established order, the Kinnar Akhara, the act took on added significance – it was the first time a trans group had done so.
Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a transgender rights activist and chief of the Kinnar Akhara monastic Hindu order, rides a chariot towards Sangam – the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers. Photo: AFP
While I think it’s great seeing all the excitement and press coverage about India legalizing gay sex, I think it’s really important to remember that this is NOT India progressing due to Western influence. This is India decolonizing.
The homophobic statute that was overturned is a product of British colonialism in India. Prior to that, India had a rich and vibrant queer community that played important functions in society. There were queer Hindu gods and hijras serve as an example of how queerness in society was venerated. This is not something to patronize India over and congratulate ourselves in the West for. This is a victory for India reclaiming their culture.
Oh my god. If i see one more of these posts in my dash I will murder someone.
Okay, let’s see:
“The homophobic statute that was overturned is a product of British colonialism in India.”
True. Section 377 was implemented by British Raj in India, possibly as an effort to safeguard Victorian mores.
“Prior to that, India had a rich and vibrant queer community that played important functions in society.”
Can you please tell me what the “important functions in society” were, my dear fella? Contrary to tumblr’s belief, homophobia was not a western (or christian) invention. We were plenty homophobic on our own, thanks. Literally, the only acceptable ‘queerness’ in society was a laundebaaz (aka, one who does it to men/boys) whereas the gandu (aka the one who takes it up the ass) was considered the lowest of low in society.Even now, gandu is a derogatory word similar to faggot. Does that sound like “venerating queerness” to you dear?
Also, lesbians? LOL. What lesbians?? Funnily enough, even in “a society venerating queerness" lesbianism is practically unheard of. Furthermore, the ‘celebration of queerness” in these cultures is mostly male receiving partners being pushed to the margins of society.
But hey, why consider boring things like reality… when you can have Cool-Tumblr-Version-of-Queer-Feminist-Utopia-Before-the-Whiteys-Fucked-Everything-Up™
brand of history?
“There were queer Hindu gods and hijras serve as an example of how queerness in society was venerated”
Firstly, there “were queer Gods”? What happened to them? Did they die when colonialism happened? Did they go, “Ah… those dastardly British have set foot on India and are imposing their Victorian mores, perhaps we should pack up our bags and leave”? I might be a tad bit uninformed in my “queer Gods”, considering the fact that I was born into and practicing Hinduism since my birth and so has all my forefathers, but according to my knowledge those “Queer Gods” still remained in society. Yet, homophobia persisted. Heck, Sabarimala is one of the most pilgrimage sites (that has the son of ‘Queer Gods’ as the deity), and even now “youthful females” (i.e., women of ages from their first menstruation till menopause) are NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER.
Despite being the son of queer gods, Ayyappa still seems to be misogynistic as fuck.
Secondly, you might wanna brush up on those queer gods and legendary figures… almost in all of them one of the couple gets magically changed to other sex and begets a biological child. Biological procreation and production of progeny - it seems as if even the Gods have to perform and conform to heteronormativity.
Now,
“hijras”
I wish I got dollars for every time a White Ally™ misused or misrepresented hijras. Contrary to popular belief, hijras are not transexuals (at least not all of them). There are different types of hijras - those who were born hermaphrodites, those who castrate themselves and proclaim to be neither man nor woman, those who are homosexual men who crossdress, and those who are men who do not perform masculinity to society’s standards. They are literally gender non-conforming men : either their homosexuality is a deviancy that needed to be corrected; or their lack of assertion of heterosexuality was a mistake to be corrected, or they just liked “girly things” too much.
So, these “venerated positions” that they supposedly held was quite literally the only option left to them - they were kicked out of society and jobs. I know a lot of people on tumblr would say “but they were in kings’ courts and all”. Guess why? They were either entertainers (a part of the dance troupe) because that ‘girly’ job was seen apt for them. Generally, dancers were not seen in positive light.
They were considered at best as courtesans and at worst as prostitutes.
Even now, “attakari” (dancer) is a term used to say a woman is a slut.
Second option for them was as guards or companions (sahelis). This was to ensure “the purity of noble woman”. After all, when the “purity of the womb” is of the utmost importance, a king/noble wouldn’t even trust male guards with their women. Heck, there are even legends of gnc men being coerced into castration so as to make guards for ladies. That is why they were the guards of many noble’s harems - not because they were valued for their capabilities, but because they couldn’t “damage the property” (i.e., have penetrative sex with the royal’s women).
Nowadays, most of them cannot get a decent jobs, and literally have to beg in trains and buses to get food on their tables. Oh, this is also a part of the “veneration” : they have no livelihood, so they go and threaten people with curses (their otherness makes them freaky, and according to superstition gives them supernatural powers), so that people will donate some money in fear.
This is not including the young boys and men that were pushed into sex mafia and trafficking.
So, miss me with that “veneration” bullshit.
“This is not something to patronize India over and congratulate ourselves
in the West for. This is a victory for India reclaiming their culture.”
Do you know what I find patronising? White allys
who has read Buzzfeed articles on ‘hijras’ or ‘queerness’ somehow pretending to speak for us. Lauding us for our extremely open/feminist/queer Culture™
that they know of through exoticized magazines and power yoga videos.
I once read an essay on how Indian patriarchial system countered westernization (in an effort to prevent women from going outside their homes) by claiming that
while British might be materialistically more advanced than Indians, ~spiritually Indians are better than British~.
The same exotic bullshit is repackaged here, using liberal buzzwords to please tumblr crowd.
The really ironic thing is that this whole ‘other cultures were 100% pure and enlightened before contact with the white man’ thing is pretty, guess what, racist. It’s a variation on the ‘noble savage’ stereotype, and do I really have to go into what is wrong with that?
The Kama Sutra provides input into the Indian history of homophobia and transphobia
The Kama Sutra is a very useful source of information on Ancient and Medieval Indian beliefs on sex, gender and sexuality. You need to find an unabridged and uncensored version, though. The illustrated coffee table versions depicting amazing sexual positions will not do the trick.
Alain Daniélou’s version contains a complete translation of the Kama Sutra, as it was compiled and written down in Sanskrit by Vätsyäyana somewhere between 200 and 500 AD. This version also has the advantage that it includes a medieval commentary on the Kama Sutra, written by a scholar called Yashodhara. In this way we have two windows into Indian views of sexuality, one from around the fourth century, and one from the twelfth century.
The two editors of the Kama Sutra make desperate attempts at reconciling the different belief systems of both eras, and parts of the text does confirm that there were periods of time and areas of India where some “queer”, “gay” and “transgender” people were tolerated (I am using quotation marks here, as modern terms do not necessarily fit with the concepts of those times).
However, it is also full of the most toxic, hypermasculine, sexist, homophobic and transphobic bigotry, and in no way does the tolerance of those “queer” align with modern, liberal, values.
The Indian site Entrepreneur India celebrates transgender women and the Hijra community with a photo slideshow presenting inspiring trans women.
I’ll pick one to give you an example: Subramaniam is a writer, an actor and an entrepreneur.
She joined the trans family at the young age of 14 and went on to complete her education with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass communication from Madurai University.
During her younger days, Subramaniam also published a magazine called Sahodari, which means sister, to advocate equal right for the members of her community. In the latter part of her life, the entrepreneur started an NGO with the same name and the same purpose.
While in 2011, Kalki was recognized as the first transgender women in India to do a lead role in a movie. The feature film is known Narthagi and discusses issues surrounded to the community.
A Vaishnav Hindu teacher and theologian has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Thought of the Day detailing how Hinduism has historically supported transgender people “long and surprising approach to gender identity.”
“Ayurvedic texts say that people are born into one of three gender types, male, female and in Sanskrit, the third type. This was considered natural and linked to the vagueries of human reincarnation, as we alternate back and forth between male and female in a prolonged series of lives, we carry subconscious impressions and tendencies with us.
So in Hindu terms, we may carry a body that doesn’t match our gender outlook. The term tritiya prakriti indicates that gendered distinctions should not be based on biology or genitalia, but rather on psychology.
This probably also explains why the transgender movement in India is more likely to fight for the concept of “ a third gender” as opposed to being recognized as their target gender primarily.
A child in India was abandoned by its parents after they discovered that her blood donor was a transgender woman.
Rekha (not her real name) saved the anaemic baby’s life with a blood transfusion, but later found the baby outside her house with a handwritten note attached.
The parents had deserted the child as they were worried she would become “one of them” – meaning a trans person – because a trans woman’s blood was running through her veins.
There is a special place in Hell for people like that.
For the record: A blood transfusion will not make you trans.
Photo: Indian transgender women (NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)
Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is a transgender activist from India who is an author, dancer and actress.
She is an advocate for the rights of the hijra, which is a very old
community in India that identifies its members as neither male nor
female. Tripathi was the plaintiff in litigation winning legal
recognition for a third gender from the Indian Supreme Court in 2014,
and she has worked to broaden gender definitions at the United Nations
and other global forums on HIV and AIDS. […]
The class, COLL 300 at William and Mary Universiyt, is
typically taken in a student’s third year and emphasizes experiences
and knowledge of the larger world. This fall’s COLL 300 theme is
IN/EXclusion and planned visitors are practitioners Ifarinwale Ogundiran and Bamigboye Adewale Adebukola Oct.
9-13, presenting an introduction to traditional Yoruba Ifa religion in
Nigeria and Native American expert on tribal law, and federal Indian
policy Sarah Deer, who has worked for 20 years to end violence against women focusing specifically on Native women and communities, Nov. 14-17.
Part of Tripathi’s COLL 300 remarks and performance included a dance,
which W&M students participated in. Tripathi ran her own dance
academy a decade ago, and she had a short turnaround time of two
rehearsals to teach and perfect the Indian dance with the students.
Moving story of Indian transgender woman and her daughter
An advertising campaign from cough and cold brand Vicks has been acclaimed for featuring the true story of Gayatri, an orphan who found a loving mother in a Mumbai-based transgender rights activist Gauri Sawant.
“We want consumers to recognise that everyone has a right to family and
that wherever there is care, that bond is a family,” said a spokesperson from the company.
“Vicks’ latest advertisement titled ‘Touch of Care’ weaves together two controversial topics - adoption and transgender rights - to create a beautiful story, that will stay with you longer than its 3-minute run time.”
Shree Ghatak Muhuri has become the first transgender woman to legally marry in Kolkata, India’s second-biggest city.
The 30-year-old married her childhood ceremony Sanjay Muhuri in a lavish ceremony on Saturday which is believed to be a first in the state of West Bengal.
The couple met 16 years but Shree said she was very confused about her feelings because she was still presenting as a boy.
According to Oodnari she said: “It was really a difficult struggle for me. I fought it alone all along. But then my mother stood by me."
The theater artist, who went for a gender reassignment surgery in 2015, said that her mother understood that her child was a daughter in her soul and wanted to live that life.
Modeling at Lakme Fashion Week often seemed like a dream far beyond her
reach, but Lama has become the first transgender woman to model at one
of the top events on India’s fashion calendar and one sponsored by a top
Indian cosmetics brand.
Growing up as the fifth son in a poor farming family in Nepal, Lama
didn’t dream early in life to be a fashion model. First was the painful
struggle to accept that she felt deeply female. […]
“I began to feel really confused and depressed. I kept asking myself ‘I’m a boy, so why do I feel this way?’
“I tried to change but it was mental torture.” […]
A chance encounter with transgender women turned Lama’s life
around by putting her in touch with the Blue Diamond Society, an
advocacy group for Nepal’s LGBT community.
In 2005 she came out to her friends and family as transgender.
“It was like a rebirth for me. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my
God, I’m not alone in this world. There are others like me,’ she said.
