I was remembering parts of other classes I have taken, and
those that have discussed the confining binary system we have. Within those
classes we talked about Hijras and I wanted to discuss this interesting
intersex. Hijras are born men biologically, but live as women. They take on
feminine characteristics and put on feminine dress. Hijras are a third sex in
parts of south Asia and they are accepted being that they are neither man, nor woman.
Hijras often worship a mother goddess usually, and as a final stage to
commitment to their Hijras community eliminate their genitalia. One of the
parts of Hijras I find most interesting is that they often bless marriages and
babies. Their blessing is seen as a good advantage in fertility interestingly
enough.
This article talks about the Hijras and the struggles they
have been going through in the modern era and how their rights are changing. Deepa in the article articulates in
well in the first part when they say that Hijras are men biologically, but have
the soul of a woman. It’s innate and they are not going to deny who they are.
My question is then how would this kind of person be treated or seen in our
society where even their blessing probably would not be valued?
Joan Welch
The thing that I find the most interesting about this point of view is the attitude asian countries are taking towards hijras. Obviously, in today's society an abnormality like this in America would face plenty of scrutiny. Our society as a whole tends to exclude or look down upon anything that does not conform to the societal norm. In that aspect, I personally believe that an individual is still a person regardless of their body parts, and should be treated with respect. I'm simply surprised by the drastic difference in what society scorns, and adores based on geographical location.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that if a case such as this were to be present in America they wouldn't be seen as socially acceptable. They would be seen as different, and would also have a hard time surviving in American culture. I also agree that a person should be treated as an equal no matter what conditions they face, but just simply based of where things take place and the beliefs and cultures that are followed changes everything.
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