Image: Still from ‘Charlotte’s Web’/Hanna-Barbera Productions.
The spider, Charlotte, dies alone, underscoring the importance of family and friends.
The Existential Sadness of “Charlotte’s Web.”
New York, N.Y. Recently I was reading with a young E.S.L. student E. B. White’s exceptional children’s tale, Charlotte’s Web. Charlotte is a kind, clever, and loyal spider who saves Wilbur the pig’s life. As this spider dies, alone and forgotten, I was filled with a sense of existential dread — sadness, loneliness — and I realized in that moment that this existential journey called life matters only in the reflection of friends and family.
Cherry blossoms, representing beauty and the fleetingness of life, are revered around the world for their short-lived splendor. These delicate blooms serve as a poignant reminder of the transient yet breathtaking moments in nature.
New York, N.Y. I was delighted to serve as the master of ceremonies for the Roosevelt Island Cherry Blossom Festival for many years. The event became a beloved tradition, attracting tens of thousands of spectators annually. However, the festival’s overwhelming success eventually led to its cancellation by city and state authorities, as they could not handle the security requirements for such large crowds.
In this video, we revisit the enchanting cherry blossoms of Roosevelt Island, capturing the essence of spring and the ephemeral beauty these flowers bring to our lives. Join me in celebrating this natural wonder and reflecting on the fleeting moments that make life so beautiful.
Lions Club International, like Rotary and Kiwanis, serves Humanity
New York, N.Y. Our New York Lions Club – Join Us! Lions Club International, like Rotary and Kiwanis, serves humanity. As founder and president of a New York City club, I encourage you to join! We are the New York Global Leaders Lions Club – an eclub, meeting monthly via Zoom.
Equality assumes a level playing field; equity acknowledges historical imbalances and designs solutions to bridge them
Washington, D.C. — The Milken Institute School of Public Health of The George Washington University has ignited a pivotal conversation with its report Equity vs. Equality: What’s the Difference? The paper, which dissects how these two concepts shape outcomes for marginalized communities, remains a cornerstone for policymakers grappling with systemic health disparities.
INEQUALITY.
While equality and equity are often used interchangeably, the report warns that conflating them risks perpetuating cycles of inequality—and public health data proves it.
Defining the Divide
Equality ensures everyone receives the same resources, like a city uniformly cutting all community center hours. Equity, however, allocates resources based on need—such as extending hours in underserved neighborhoods where access is scarce.
The distinction is stark: equality assumes a level playing field; equity acknowledges historical imbalances and designs solutions to bridge them.
“The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone justly according to their circumstances,” says Paula Dressel of the Race Matters Institute.
EQUALITY.
A Tale of Two Systems
The report uses a simple analogy: two individuals trying to pick fruit from a tree. Equality gives both the same ladder, but if one person is shorter or the ground beneath them uneven, they still can’t reach. Equity provides taller ladders or fills holes to ensure both succeed.
In public health, this translates to:
Equality: Equal funding for all schools’ computer labs.
Equity: Extra computers and longer hours in low-income areas where students lack home access.
The CDC defines health equity as “when everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.” Yet systemic design flaws—like English-only community meetings in multilingual neighborhoods—often undermine this goal.
Case Studies: Equity in Action
1. Project Brotherhood: Closing the Gap for Black Men
EQUITY.
Launched in Chicago through the CDC’s Healthy Communities Program, this clinic addressed stark health disparities for Black men. Strategies included:
Free evening healthcare to accommodate work schedules.
Culturally tailored health seminars and fatherhood classes.
Training barbers as health advocates.
By 2007, the clinic served over 13,000 people, with weekly visits skyrocketing from 4 to 27.
“Respect and cultural competence built trust in a community long ignored by traditional healthcare,” explains Dr. Reed Tuckson, a health equity advocate.
2. Poder es Salud: Empowering Latino Communities
In Oregon, this initiative tackled social determinants of health in Black and Latino communities by:
Training community health workers in advocacy and leadership.
Using popular education to foster mutual learning.
Building cross-cultural partnerships through participatory research.
Follow-up surveys showed improved mental health and social support, proving that empowering marginalized voices drives sustainable change.
JUSTICE.
3. Project BRAVE: Reducing Youth Violence
This school-based program in underserved areas linked students with community organizations to address violence. By creating safe spaces for dialogue, school attendance—a key health determinant—rose significantly.
Why Precision Matters
Misapplying equity and equality can derail progress. For example, the CDC notes that “equal access” to vaccines means little if marginalized groups face language barriers or transportation issues.
Equity demands targeted outreach: mobile clinics in food deserts or translators at sign-up sites.
The WHO stresses that health inequities are avoidable and rooted in unfair systems. For instance, Black Americans face higher maternal mortality rates not due to biology but systemic racism in healthcare. Equity-focused policies, like prioritizing prenatal care in Black communities, address these gaps.
The Road Ahead
Public health leaders urge:
Education: Train professionals to recognize systemic biases.
Data-Driven Policies: Allocate resources based on community-specific needs.
Community Collaboration: Involve marginalized groups in solution-building.
“Equality is the floor; equity builds the stairs,” says Dr. Leana Wen, former Baltimore Health Commissioner. “Without both, we leave people behind.”
The Milken Institute’s work underscores that precision in language saves lives. As COVID-19 exposed glaring health disparities, the report’s lessons remain urgent: equity isn’t a buzzword—it’s a blueprint for justice. While equality ensures baseline fairness, equity dismantles the barriers that make equality insufficient. From Chicago to Oregon, evidence shows that when systems prioritize equity, communities thrive.
The challenge now is turning awareness into action—one tailored ladder at a time.
Tags: Health Equity, Social Equality, Public Health, Systemic Disparities, Community Health, Health Policy, Marginalized Populations, Social Determinants of Health
Photo: Vlada von Shats of The Russian Samovar with her son Nicholas, who served flavored vodka to the guests of the Orphans international and J. Luce Foundation Quarter Century Awards Celebration at the Asa Society, NYV, Oct. 17, 2024. Credit: Sasha Gegera.
Photo: xxx Credit: Michael Ostuni for Patrick McMullan via Getty Image.
Gale Brewer began her career in public service as chief of staff to then-New York City Council member Ruth Messinger and then worked in the administration of David Dinkins and Served as Deputy Public Advocate for Intergovernmental Affairs under Mark Green.
Brewer then ran and won a seat on the New York City Council until term limitations forced her to run for Manhattan Borough President which she won, and then won again. In 2020, she ran to regain her seat on the New York City Council.
The Clare Boothe Luce Award for Public Service is named in honor of a true Renaissance woman who served both in the U.S. House of Representatives and as the first female American Ambassador, as well as having been a versatile author and editor.
Gale Brewer has focused on our migrant crisis, responses to climate emergencies, the proliferation of unlicensed cannabis shops, operational challenges in family court, maintaining the municipal workforce, and has convened task forces on construction safety, small business, faith-based entities and real estate, affordable housing, and the closing of Rikers Island jails.
Gale Brewer has taught at City University of New York and Barnard College. She lives with her husband Cal Snyder, and they have a grown son. In the past, she had many foster children.
Photo: Jean Shafiroff at the 25th Anniversary Awards Evening of the J. Luce Foundation and Orphans International was held in the H. Luce Penthouse of the Asia Society. Credit: Sasha Gegera.
Photo: The regal proprietor of The Russian Samovar, Ukrainian Russian American Vlada von Shats accepts the Luce Mayflower Award for first generation leaders. Credit: Sasha Gegera.Photo: Vlada von Shats of the Russian samovar in the Manhattan’s Theater District. Photo: Sasha Gegera.
Photo: New York City Council member Julie Menen accepts the Clare Boothe Luce Leadership Award for Public Service at the Asia Society, NYC. Credit: Sasha Gegera.
Photo: Dr. Robert Thurman and Dr. Jonathan Granoff attend 25th Anniversary Awards with the J. Luce Foundation at the Asia Society NYC, Oct. 17, 2024. Credit: Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.
The Rev. Martin Luther King said, “We may have come over on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now.” The J. Luce Foundation 2024 Mayflower Award was presented to Indhira Arrington, Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer of Ares Management in New York City.
Indhira Arrington came to New York from the Dominican Republic, instilled with a strong work ethic by her parents who spoke limited English, driven to prove herself as an immigrant in a new country.
Photo: Indhira Arrington, Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer of Ares Management received the Luce Mayflower Award from J. Luce Foundation president Jim Luce. Credit: MaryMor Photography.
As the Rev. Martin Luther King said, “We may have come over on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now.” The Mayflower Award is presented to a first-generation American who has the intelligence and determination to better our nation.
Photo: Indhira Arrington displays her Mayflower Award as Errol Rappaport contemplates the corwd at the Luce Awards Show, Asia Society NYC. Credit: Sasha Gegera.
She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, supporting Latinos in New York around school, work and childcare, as well as Vice Chair of the Council of Urban Professionals(CUP)focusing on supporting women and people of color to leadership roles in corporate organizations.
PROFILES of Awardees at the 25th Anniversary of the J. Luce Foundation & Orphans International, Asia Society, NYC
Kathoey or katoey (Khmer: ខ្ទើយ; khtəəy, Lao: ກະເທີຍ; ka thœ̄i, Thai: กะเทย; RTGS: kathoei; Thai pronunciation: [kàtʰɤːj]) is an identity used by some people in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, whose identities in English may be best described as transgender women in some cases, or effeminategay men in other cases. These people are not traditionally transgender, but are seen as a third sex, being one body containing two souls. Transgender women in Thailand mostly use terms other than kathoey when referring to themselves, such as phuying (Thai: ผู้หญิง, ‘woman’). A significant number of Thai people perceive kathoey as belonging to a separate sex, including some transgender women themselves.[1]
In the face of the many sociopolitical obstacles that kathoeys navigate in Thailand, kathoey activism has led to constitutional protection from unjust gender discrimination as of January 2015, but a separate third gender category has not yet been legally recognized.[2]
History
According to historical accounts, the presence of androgynous people seeking sexual exchanges dates back over 700 years. This is mentioned in an account by a Chinese observer named Zhou Daguan who visited the Angkor Wat area of Cambodia in 1296–1297. He observed that there were many “two-shaped persons” who tried to lure Chinese men with the promise of sumptuous gifts.[3][4] The term “kathoey” is used to refer to transgender women or the “third sex”. Its usage dates back to a 19th-century interpretation of the Chbab Srey, a Cambodian text written around 1800. The text refers to “malicious” women being punished in the “four hells” and being reincarnated as kathoey.[5]
Terminology
A study of 195 Thai transgender women found that most of the participants referred to themselves as phuying (ผู้หญิง ‘women’), with a minority referring to themselves as phuying praphet song (‘second kind of woman’) and very few referring to themselves as kathoey.[6] Related phrases include phet thi sam (เพศที่สาม, ‘third sex’), and sao praphet song or phu ying praphet song (สาวประเภทสอง, ผู้หญิงประเภทสอง—both meaning ‘second-type female’). The word kathoey is of Khmer ខ្ទើយ khteuy.[7] It is most often rendered as ladyboy in English conversation, an expression that has become popular across Southeast Asia.[citation needed]
General description
Although kathoey is often translated as ‘transgender woman‘ in English, this term is not correct in Thailand. As well as transgender people, the term can refer to gay men, and was originally used to refer to intersex people.[7] Before the 1960s, the use of kathoey included anyone who deviated from the dominant sexual norms.[8] Because of this confusion in translation, the English translation of kathoey is usually ‘ladyboy’ (or variants of the term).
Use of the term kathoey suggests that the person self-identifies as a type of male, in contrast to sao praphet song (which, like “trans woman”, suggests a “female” (sao) identity), and in contrast to phet thi sam (‘third sex’). The term phu ying praphet song, which can be translated as ‘second-type female’, is also used to refer to kathoey.[9]: 146 Australian scholar of sexual politics in Thailand Peter Jackson claims that the term kathoey was used in antiquity to refer to intersex people, and that the connotation changed in the mid-20th century to cover cross-dressing males.[10]Kathoey became an iconic symbol of modern Thai culture.[11] The term can refer to males who exhibit varying degrees of femininity. Many dress as women and undergo “feminising” medical procedures such as breast implants, hormones, silicone injections, or Adam’s apple reductions. Others may wear make-up and use feminine pronouns, but dress as men, and are closer to the Western category of effeminate gay man than transgender.
The term kathoey may be considered pejorative, especially in the form kathoey-saloey. It has a meaning similar to the English language ‘fairy’ or ‘queen’.[12]Kathoey can also be seen as a derogatory word for those who are gay.[13]
Religion
In Buddhism there are a variety of interpretations on how to relate to Kathoey and Transgender people. Some within the Theravada school of Buddhism see being a kathoey as the result of karmic punishment for previous lifetimes.[14] Bunmi, a Thai Buddhist author, believes that homosexuality stems from “lower level spirits” (phi-sang-thewada), a factor that is influenced by one’s past life.[7] Some Buddhists view kathoeys as persons born with a disability as a consequence of past sins.[7][dubious – discuss] Using the notion of karma, some Thais believe that being a kathoey is the result of transgressions in past lives, concluding that kathoey deserve pity rather than blame.[15] Others, however, believe that kathoeys should rectify their past life transgressions.[16] This is done through merit-making such as “making donations to a temple or by ordaining as monks”.[16] While other Buddhists believe that the Buddha was never hostile to LGBT people and therefore that seeing being LGBT as a karmic punishment is a mistaken interpretation.[17]
In northern Thailand, Kathoey, women, and gay men are considered to have soft souls and are therefore easily frightened and highly susceptible to possession.[18] These three groups are heavily represented in spirit summoning since people without soft souls are considered immune to possession.[18] Despite this, Kathoey being a large proportion of the spirit medium population is a modern phenomenon since there is little evidence that Kathoey were associated with religious practice and were banned from religious ceremony before the modern period.[19] In rural areas in north Thailand, Kathoey have taken on jobs as spirit mediums where they become known as Kathoey maa-khii.[20] Spirit mediumship provides Kathoey with a source of income as well as a support network.[21]
During the festival of the nine gods in southern Thailand, Kathoey participate as spiritual mediums of the god Kaun Im.[22] The southern Thailand tradition of the spirit medium Nora dance has traditionally been a primarily male performance.[23] However, women and Kathoey have become an increasingly large proportion of the performers, with a majority male performers in 2014 being either gay men or Kathoey.[24]
Requirements to confirm eligibility for gender-affirming surgery
In Thai cities such as Bangkok, there are currently two to three gender-affirming surgery (GAS) operations per week, more than 3,500 over the past thirty years.[25] With the massive increase in GASs, there has also been an increase in prerequisites, measures that must be taken in order to be eligible for the operation. Patients must be at least 18 years old with permission from parents if under 20 years old.[26] One must provide evidence of diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a psychologist or psychiatrist. Before going through gender reassignment surgery, one must be on hormones/antiandrogens for at least one year.[26] Patients must have a note from the psychiatrist or clinical psychologist. Two months prior to the surgery, patients are required to see a psychiatrist in Thailand to confirm eligibility for gender-affirming surgery.
Social context
Kathoeys are more visible and more accepted in Thai culture than transgender people are in other countries in the world. Several popular Thai models, singers, and movie stars are kathoeys, and Thai newspapers often print photographs of the winners of female and kathoey beauty contests side by side. The phenomenon is not restricted to urban areas; there are kathoeys in most villages, and kathoey beauty contests are commonly held as part of local fairs.[citation needed]
Kathoeys currently face many social and legal impediments. Families (and especially fathers) are typically disappointed if a child becomes a kathoey, and kathoeys often have to face the prospect of disclosing their birth sex. However, kathoey generally have greater acceptance in Thailand than most other East Asian countries.[28] Problems can also arise in regards to access to amenities and gender allocation.
Employment
Many kathoey work in predominately female occupations, such as in shops, restaurants, and beauty salons, but also in factories (a reflection of Thailand’s high proportion of female industrial workers).[29] Discrimination in employment is rampant as many perceive kathoeys as having mental problems and refuse to hire them.[30] In addition, the difficulty for Kathoey to change their gender marker on official documentation makes finding employment harder.[31][32] For these reasons, many kathoeys are only able to find work in sex and entertainment industries.[30] These sorts of jobs include tourist centers, cabarets, and sex work.[30]Kathoeys who work in the tourism sector must conform to a physical image that is preferred by tourists.[30]Kathoeys who obtain jobs in the civil service sector are required to wear uniforms coinciding with their assigned sex of male.[33] In 2011, the short lived airline P.C. Air began hiring Kathoey as flight attendants.[34][35]
In rural areas in northern Thailand, some kathoey have acquired jobs picking fruit from trees.[36] According to rural traditions men and women perform separate roles in the process of collecting fruit. Men climb trees and while women collect fruit in baskets below. However, kathoey are allowed to perform both roles.[37]Kathoey in Rural Areas in northern Thailand have begun acquiring jobs as spirit mediums as well.[38]
Education
Many schools teach students that being transgender is wrong and a form of sexual deviancy.[16] Thai schools utilize gendered uniforms as well.[39] In 2015, Bangkok University revised its uniform guidelines to allow transgender students to wear the uniform of their preferred gender, however, many other institutions still force transgender students to wear the uniform that matches their assigned sex.[39] Several Kathoey and transgender women choose which schools to attend based mainly on the ability to wear the gendered school uniform they prefer.[40] Some kathoey report facing violence and discrimination from both their classmates and their teachers at all levels of schooling due to their being kathoey.[41] This has led to some dropping out or changing schools.[42]
Political context
Thailand’s 2015 Gender Equality Act is currently the strongest legal tool for advocating for transgender rights.[33] It protects those who are “of a different appearance from his/her own sex by birth” from unfair gender discrimination.[39] Prior to the creation of the 2016 Thai constitution, people believed that anti-discrimination terms would be set for a new category called ‘third gender‘.[39] This term, however, was missing from the new constitution and no protections for transgender people were specifically outlined.[39] Instead, the constitution prohibited “unjust discrimination” based on differences in sex.[39]
Identification documents
Legal recognition of kathoeys and transgender people is nonexistent in Thailand: even if a transgender person has had sex reassignment surgery, they are not allowed to change their legal sex on their identification documents.[33] Identification documents are particularly important for daily life in Thailand as they facilitate communication with businesses, bureaucratic agencies (i.e., signing up for educational courses or medical care), law enforcement, etc.[33] The primary identification form used in Thailand is The Thai National Identification Card, which is used for many important processes such as opening a bank account.[33] The vast majority of transgender people are unable to change these documents to reflect their chosen gender, and those who are allowed must uphold strict standards.[43] Transgender individuals are often accused of falsifying documents and are forced to show their identification documents.[33] This threatens their safety and results in their exclusion from various institutions like education or housing.[33] Impeded by these identity cards on a daily basis, transgender people are “outed” by society.[44]
The criminal justice sector relies on identification cards when deciding where to detain individuals.[33] This means that kathoeys are detained alongside men.[33] By law, women are not allowed to be detained alongside men, and since kathoeys are not legally classified as women, they reside in the male section in prison.[33] Within prison, kathoeys are forced to cut their hair and abide by strict rules governing gender expression.[33] Additionally, they are denied access to hormones and other “transition-related health care”.[33]
Military draft
Transgender individuals were automatically exempted from compulsory military service in Thailand. Kathoeys were deemed to suffer from “mental illness” or “permanent mental disorder”.[45] These mental disorders were required to appear on their military service documents, which are accessible to future employers. In 2006, the Thai National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) overturned the use of discriminatory phraseology in Thailand’s military service exemption documents.[45] With Thai law banning citizens from changing their sex on their identification documents, everyone under the male category must attend a “lottery day” where they are randomly selected to enlist in the army for two years. In March 2008, the military added a “third category” for transgender people that dismissed them from service due to “illness that cannot be cured within 30 days”.[46] In 2012, the Administrative Court ruled that the Military and Defense needed to revise the reasoning for their exemption of kathoeys from the military.[33] As such, kathoeys are now exempt from the military under the reasoning that their “gender does not match their sex at birth”.[33]
Performance
Representation in cinema
Kathoeys began to gain prominence in the cinema of Thailand during the late-1980s.[47] The depiction at first was negative by showing kathoeys suffering bad karma, suicide, and abandoned by straight lovers.[47] Independent and experimental films contributed to defying sexual norms in gay cinema in the 1990s.[48] The 2000 film The Iron Ladies, directed by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, depicted a positive portrayal of an almost entirely kathoey volleyball team by displaying their confidence.[47] The rising middle-class in Bangkok and vernacular queer culture made the mainstream portrayal of kathoeys more popular on television and in art house cinemas.[49]
Miss Tiffany’s Universe
Feminine beauty in Thailand allowed transgender people to have their own platform where they are able to challenge stereotypes and claim cultural recognition.[50]Miss Tiffany’s Universe is a beauty contest that is opened to all transgender women. Beginning in 1998, the pageant takes place every May in Pattaya, Thailand. With over 100 applicants, the pageant is considered to be one of the most popular transgender pageants in the world. Through beauty pageants, Thailand has been able to promote the country’s cosmetic surgery industry, which has had a massive increase in medical tourism for sex reassignment surgery. According to the Miss Tiffany’s Universe website, the live broadcast attracts record of fifteen million viewers. The winner of the pageant receives a tiara, sash, car, and a grand prize of 100,000 baht (US$3,000), equivalent to an annual wage for a Thai factory worker.[51] The assistant manager director, Alisa Phanthusak, stated that the pageant wants kathoeys to be visible and to treat them as normal.[2] It is the biggest annual event in Pattaya.[52]
Transgender beauty contests are found in the countryside at village fairs or festivals.[7] All-male revues are common in gay bars in Bangkok and as drag shows in the tourist resort of Pattaya.[7]
Recent developments
In 1993, Thailand’s teacher training colleges implemented a semi-formal ban on allowing homosexual (which included kathoey) students enrolling in courses leading to qualification for positions in kindergartens and primary schools. In January 1997, the Rajabhat Institutes (the governing body of the colleges) announced it would formalize the ban, which would extend to all campuses at the start of the 1997 academic year. The ban was quietly rescinded later in the year, following the replacement of the Minister of Education.[9]: xv–xiv
In 1996, a volleyball team composed mostly of gays and kathoeys, known as The Iron Ladies (Thai: สตรีเหล็ก, satree lek), later portrayed in two Thai movies, won the Thai national championship. The Thai government, concerned with the country’s image, barred two of the kathoeys from joining the national team and competing internationally.
Among the most famous kathoeys in Thailand is Nong Tum, a former champion Thai boxer who emerged into the public eye in 1998. She would present in a feminine manner and had commenced hormone therapy while still a popular boxer; she would enter the ring with long hair and make-up, occasionally kissing a defeated opponent. She announced her retirement from professional boxing in 1999 – undergoing gender reassignment surgery, while continuing to work as a coach, and taking up acting and modeling. She returned to boxing in 2006.
In 2004, the Chiang Mai Technology School allocated a separate restroom for kathoeys, with an intertwined male and female symbol on the door. The school’s fifteen kathoey students were required to wear male clothing at school but were allowed to sport feminine hairdos. The restroom featured four stalls, but no urinals.[53]
Following the 2006 Thai coup d’état, kathoeys are hoping for a new third sex to be added to passports and other official documents in a proposed new constitution.[54] In 2007, legislative efforts have begun to allow kathoeys to change their legal sex if they have undergone gender reassignment surgery; this latter restriction was controversially discussed in the community.[55]
It is estimated that as many as six in every thousand native males later present themselves as transgender women or phu ying kham phet.
Advocacy
Activism
Thai activists have mobilized for over two decades to secure sexual diversity rights.[57] Beauty pageant winner Yollada Suanyot, known as Nok, founded the Trans Female Association of Thailand on the basis of changing sex designation on identification cards for post-operative transgender women.[57] Nok promoted the term phuying kham-phet instead of kathoey but was controversial because of its connotation with gender identity disorder.[57] The goal of the Thai Transgender Alliance is to delist gender dysphoria from international psychological diagnostic criteria. The Alliance uses the term kathoey to advocate for transgender identity.[57] A common protest sign during sexual rights marches is Kathoey mai chai rok-jit meaning “Kathoey are not mentally ill”.[57]
Activism in Thailand is discouraged if it interferes with official policy.[58] In January 2006, the Thai Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS had their offices raided after demonstrations against Thai-US foreign trade agreements.[58] Under the Thai Constitution of 1997, the right to be free of discrimination based on health conditions helped to minimize the stigma against communities living with HIV/AIDS.[58] In most cases, governments and their agencies fail to protect transgender people against these exclusions.[11] There is a lack of HIV/AIDS services for specifically transgender people, and feminizing hormones largely go without any medical monitoring.[11]
Trans prejudice has produced discriminatory behaviors that have led to the exclusion of transgender people from economic and social activity.[59] Worldwide, transgender people face discrimination amongst family members, in religious and educational settings, and the workplace.[11] Accepted mainly in fashion-related jobs or show business, transgender people are discriminated against in the job market and have limited job opportunities.[57]Kathoeys have also experienced ridicule from coworkers and tend to have lower salaries.[13] Long-term unemployment reduces the chances of contributing to welfare for the family and lowers self-esteem, causing a higher likelihood of prostitution in specialized bars.[11] “Ladyboy” bars also can provide a sense of community and reinforces a female sense of identity for kathoeys.[11] Harassment from the police is evident especially for kathoeys who work on the streets.[11]Kathoeys may be rejected in official contexts being denied entry or services.[13]
Based on a study by AIDS Care participants who identified as a girl or kathoey at an early age were more likely to be exposed to prejudice or violence from men in their families.[60]Kathoeys are more subjected to sexual attacks from men than are other homosexuals.[9]
Anjaree is one of Thailand’s gay feminist organizations, established in mid-1986 by women’s right activists.[61] The organization advocated wider public understanding of homosexuality based on the principles of human rights. The first public campaign opposing sexual irregularity was launched in 1996.[62]
Social spaces are often limited for kathoeys even if Thai society does not actively persecute them.[13] Indigenous Thai cultural traditions have given a social space for sexual minorities.[11] In January 2015, the Thai government announced it would recognize the third sex in its constitution in order to ensure all sexes be treated equally under the law.[2]
In popular culture
The first all-kathoey music group in Thailand was formed in 2006. It is named “Venus Flytrap” and was selected and promoted by Sony BMG Music Entertainment.[63] “The Lady Boys of Bangkok” is a kathoeyrevue that has been performed in the UK since 1998, touring the country in both theatres and the famous “Sabai Pavilion”[64] for nine months each year.
Ladyboys, also a popular term used in Thailand when referring to transgender women, was the title of a popular documentary in the United Kingdom, where it was aired on Channel 4 TV in 1992 and was directed by Jeremy Marre. Marre aimed to portray the life of two adolescent kathoeys living in rural Thailand, as they strove to land a job at a cabaret revue in Pattaya.
The German-Swedish band Lindemann wrote the song “Ladyboy”, on their first studio album Skills in Pills, about a man’s preference for kathoeys.
Thai kathoey style and fashion has largely borrowed from Korean popular culture.[65]
“Uncle Go Paknam”
“Uncle Go Paknam”, created by Pratchaya Phanthathorn, is a popular queer advice column that first appeared in 1975 in a magazine titled Plaek, meaning ‘strange’.[8] Through letters and responses it became an outlet to express the desires and necessities of the queer community in Thailand.[8] The magazine achieved national popularity because of its bizarre and often gay content.[8] It portrayed positive accounts of kathoeys and men called “sharks” to view transgender people as legitimate or even preferred sexual partners and started a more accepting public discourse in Thailand.[8] Under the pen name of Phan Thathron he wrote the column “Girls to the Power of 2” that included profiles of kathoeys in a glamorous or erotic pose.[8] “Girls to the Power of 2” were the first accounts of kathoey lives based on interviews that allowed their voices to be published in the mainstream press of Thailand.[8] The heterosexual public became more inclined to read about transgender communities that were previously given negative press in Thai newspapers.[8] Go Paknam’s philosophy was “kathoeys are good (for men).”[8]
Inside Thailand’s Third Gender
A documentary entitled Inside Thailand’s Third Gender examines the lives of kathoeys in Thailand and features interviews with various transgender women, the obstacles these people face with their family and lovers, but moreover on a larger societal aspect where they feel ostracized by the religious Thai culture. Following contestants participating in one of the largest transgender beauty pageants, known as Miss Tiffany’s Universe, the film not only illustrates the process and competition that takes place during the beauty pageant, but also highlights the systems of oppression that take place to target the transgender community in Thailand.[citation needed]
In Western terms, most hijras are feminine-identifying people assigned male at birth. Hijras are officially recognised as a third gender throughout countries in the Indian subcontinent, being considered neither completely male nor female. Hijras‘ identity originates in ancient Hinduism and evolved during the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) and Mughal Empire (1526–1707).
Manyhijras today live in well-defined and organized all-hijra communities, led by aguru. These communities have consisted over generations of those who are in abject poverty or who have been rejected by or fled their family of origin. Many of them are sex workers.
Photo: Transgender people Boby Hijra (left) and Utpakhi Hijra are seen at Boroitola in the Jurain area of Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, 2019. Credit: UCA News.
The word hijra is a Hindustani word. It has traditionally been translated into English as “eunuch” or “hermaphrodite,” where “the irregularity of the male genitalia is central to the definition.”
However, in general hijras have been born male, with only a few having been born with intersex variations. Some hijras undergo an initiation rite into the hijra community called nirvaan, which involves the removal of the penis, scrotum and testicles.
Since the late 20th century, some hijra activists and non-government organizations (NGOs) have lobbied for official recognition of the hijra as a kind of “third sex” or “third gender,” as neither man nor woman.
Hijras have successfully gained this recognition in Bangladesh and are eligible for priority in education and certain kinds of low paid jobs.
Photo: Group of hijra in Bangladesh, 2010. Credit: USAID Bangladesh/Wikimedia Commons.
In North India, the goddess Bahuchara Mata is worshiped by pavaiyaa (‘sexless devotees’). In South India, the goddess Renuka is believed to have the power to change one’s sex. Male devotees in female clothing are known as jogappa. They perform similar roles to hijra, such as dancing and singing at birth ceremonies and weddings.
The word kothi(or koti) is common across India, similar to the kathoey of Thailand, although kothis are often distinguished from hijras.
Kothis are regarded as feminine men or boys who take a feminine role in sex with men (“bottoming“), but do not live in the kind of intentional communities that hijras usually live in.
Additionally, not all kothis have undergone initiation rites or the body modification steps to become a hijra. Local equivalents include durani (Kolkata), menaka (Cochin), meti (Nepal), and zenana (Pakistan).
Hijra used to be translated in English as “eunuch” or “hermaphrodite,” although LGBT historians or human rights activists have sought to include them as being transgender. In a series of meetings convened between October 2013 and January 2014 by the transgender experts committee of India’s Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, hijra and other trans activists asked that the term “eunuch” be discontinued from usage in government documents, as it is not a term with which the communities identify.
United Nations Development Program
Leaving No One Behind HIJRA LIVES IN BANGLADESH
Beginning in early childhood, a young hijra’s emerging gender identity and expression come into conflict with normative gender roles based on sex.
A hijra’s self-realization is noticed and tabooed by family members and society because of a lacking of knowledge and understanding about the third gender.
Often, their families resist accepting their child’s gender identity. Fearing disgrace from society at large, they often resort to various forms of abuse in an effort to ‘fix’ their child, or ultimately exclude them from their family and home.
Many hijras have no choice but to escape from their family’s maltreatment. The stigma and discrimination they face continue as they try to survive in a world that looks down on them.
Gender and sexuality
A common misconception of many in Indian society is that all hijra are intersex, asexual and impotent. This is not fully accurate as many hijra are sexually active, in relationships, or partake in sex work.[33] In India, some Hijras do not define themselves by specific sexual orientation, but rather by renouncing sexuality altogether. However, these notions can come in conflict with the practical, which is that hijras are often employed as prostitutes.[34] Furthermore, in India a feminine male who takes a “receptive” role in sex with a man will often identify as a kothi (or the local equivalent term). While kothis are usually distinguished from hijras as a separate gender identity, they often dress as women and act in a feminine manner in public spaces, even using feminine language to refer to themselves and each other. The usual partners of hijras and kothis are men who consider themselves heterosexual as they are the ones who penetrate.[35] These male partners are often married, and any relationships or sex with “kothis” or hijras are usually kept secret from the community at large. Some hijras may form relationships with men and even marry,[36] although their marriage is not usually recognised by law or religion. Hijras and kothis often have a name for these masculine sexual or romantic partners; for example, panthi in Bangladesh, giriya in Delhi or sridhar in Cochin.[31] A 2015 study found that self identified panthi participants reported their sexual orientation as bisexual but otherwise aligned with male-typical in other study measures. Identification as hijra, kothi and panthi can be distinguished from Western categories, as they go beyond sexual attraction (such as gay, lesbian or bisexual in the West) to also include gender roles/presentation and preference in sexual position.
Photo: Hidras of Panscheel Park II, New Delhi, India, 1994. Credit: R.D. Lucca of Caracas, Venezuela/Wikipedia.
A qualitative, interview based study found that those who fall under the umbrella of being hijra tend to identify with certain ‘schools of thought’ including Khusrapan and Zananapan. These terms refer to categories of hijra functioning. Those who follow Khusrapan identify with being a Hermaphrodite, denouncing sex work while believing that the ancient practices of bestowing prayers and blessings are to be depended on for sustenance. In contrast, the Zananapan school of thought has followers who may be born biologically male but identify with being a woman through their appearance and lifestyle. They often turn to begging or sex work as a consequence of social exclusion.[37]
The ancient Indian erotic book Kama Sutra mentions the performance of fellatio by feminine people of a third sex (tritiya prakriti).[38] This passage has been variously interpreted as referring to men who desired other men, so-called eunuchs (“those disguised as males, and those that are disguised as females”),[39] male and female trans people (“the male takes on the appearance of a female and the female takes on the appearance of the male”),[40] or two kinds of biological males, one dressed as a woman, the other as a man.[41] Furthermore, in the Puranas three kinds of devas or divine beings of music and dance were identified. These included apsaras, gandharvas, and kinnars, with the former two referring to female and male while the latter refers to ‘neuters’. Additionally, the early writings of the Manu Smriti explained the biological origin of the sexes, identifying a third sex that could result if there was an equal prevalence of male and female ‘seed’.[42]
Hijra identity and culture is documented to have evolved during the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) and Mughal Empire (1526–1707), where hijras held positions as servants for elite households, manual laborers, military commanders, political advisors, and guardians of the harem.[14][15]
Franciscan travelers in the 1650s noted the presence of “men and boys who dress like women” roaming the streets of Thatta, in modern Pakistan. The presence of these individuals was taken to be a sign of the city’s depravity.[43]
British colonialism and the anti-Hijra campaign (1858–1947)
Beginning in the 1850s, colonial authorities deployed various strategies to end hijra practices, which they saw as “a breach of public decency” and incapable of “moral transformation,” as part of their influence on colonial-era sexuality in India. [44] Although hijras were already criminalised by Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, in 1861, authorities of the North-Western Provinces (NWP) sought to enact a ‘special law’ against hijras.[45] By 1870, no high-ranking British officials argued against the implementation of special legislation to address the ‘hijra problem’, thus solidifying an anti-hijra campaign all across the Indian subcontinent.[45]
Anti-hijra laws were enacted, including a law outlawing castration, a marginal practice of the hijra community, although it was rarely enforced. The hijra were included in the Criminal Tribes Act (1871), subject to registration, monitoring and stigmatisation.[46][45] Because of economic costs, hijras and other so-called “criminal tribes” were unable to be collectively sequestered from colonial society. British Lieutenant-Governor Edmund Drummond (1814–1895) framed the anti-hijra campaign as a necessary project. Hijras were monitored with the hope of ending hijra practices.[45] Since the passage of the Criminal Tribes Act (1871), hijras could not possess children. This law also prevented the initiation—castration—as the administrators argued that hijra children did not or could not consent to it.[45]
Hijra communities remain throughout modern states of Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh, although they continue to face social marginalisation and police abuse.[47] In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, hijras became the subject of more attention, being the focus of numerous documentaries, news features, ethnographies, monographs and dissertations. Gayatri Reddy writes that in the 21st century, hijras have also been ‘mainstreamed’ into popular films: “given this history of near invisibility, the recent attention focused on hijras has been unsettling for both hijras and non-hijras.”[48]
Most hijras live at the margins of society with very low status; the very word “hijra” is sometimes used in a derogatory manner. The Indian lawyer and author Rajesh Talwar has written a book, titled The Third Sex and Human Rights, highlighting the human rights abuses suffered by the community.[49] Few employment opportunities are available to hijras. Many get their income from performing at ceremonies (toli), begging (dheengna), or prostitution (‘raarha’)—an occupation of eunuchs also recorded in premodern times. Violence against hijras, especially those who are prostitutes, is often brutal, and occurs in public spaces, police stations, prisons, and their homes.[50] As with transgender people in most of the world, they face extreme discrimination in health, housing, education, employment, immigration, law, and any bureaucracy that is unable to place them into male or female gender categories.[51]
The aforementioned all-hijra communities are where many hijra seek refuge and move in. These are made up of a hierarchical structure with large groups of hijras from different areas forming lineages or gharanas. A naayak is the head and primary decision maker for a gharana, determining policies for the community. Falling under naayaks are gurus (lit. “teachers”). Gurus are above community members and regulate daily life in the housing space (known as a dera). The followers of a guru are called chelas. Traditionally, teachers and their disciples use these terms in many domains such as religious learning; however, they bear specific meaning in hijra communities as being about cultural learning—hijra chelas are taught about hijra customs by their guru. These communities reflect similarities to Western notions of found family.[42][52]
In these communities, the hijras usually refer to each other in feminine terms. Thus, they refer to their relations as sisters with those who fall around their age range or aunt with those older than them, and so on.[42]
In October 2013, Pakistani Christians and Muslims (Shia and Sunni) put pressure on the landlords of Imamia Colony to evict any transgender residents. I. A. Rehman, the director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said, “Generally in Pakistan, Khwaja Sira are not under threat. But they are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province because of a ‘new Islam’ under way.”[53]
The social status of hijra in society plays a part in their difficulty accessing healthcare services as physicians will turn hijra clients away, saying their presence will disturb other clients. Hijra have to hide their identities or can not disclose illnesses such as STIs. Most medical practitioners are also not well educated and informed enough on hijra or sexuality, further contributing to this issue. Social exclusion of the hijra also has some severe consequences for their health.[54]
Hijra in Dhaka, Bangladesh were found to have the highest syphilis rates out of all at-risk groups in the city.[54] In a study of Bangladeshi hijras, participants reported not being allowed to seek healthcare at the private chambers of doctors, and experiencing abuse if they go to government hospitals.[54]
In 2008, HIV prevalence was 27.6% amongst hijra sex workers in Larkana, Pakistan.[55] The general prevalence of HIV among the adult Pakistani population is estimated at 0.1%.[56]
The aforementioned social inequalities and medical negligence also make hijra sex workers a more vulnerable population to HIV. Protection is not usually used in coerced sex[clarification needed], increasing risk of direct exposure to HIV.[57] 40% of the sample in a Pakistan study on HIV reported experiencing forced sex or abuse. Additionally, of this sample, 58% of participants had STI’s, the most common being syphilis and gonorrhoea.[58]
An Indian study consisting of 68 transgender participants reported that respondents expressed having intense feelings of low self-worth, shame, depression and suicidal thoughts, internalizing the negative views the society around them holds. Many hijra experience a lack of a support system, facing rejection from family members or difficulties in terms of maintaining steady relationships with romantic partners. This rejection from society contributes to struggles with mental health as well as trans sex workers feeling obligated to accept the violence and stigmas they are subject to.[57]
After India’s Supreme Court re-criminalized homosexual sex on 11 December 2013, there was a sharp increase in physical, psychological and sexual violence against the transgender community by the Indian Police Service, which often does not investigate reports of sexual assault against them.[59] On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court overturned India’s Section 377, which criminalized anal and oral sex.[60]
In an ethnographic study on the hijra experience in Bangladesh, many hijra recounted childhood experiences of facing abuse and isolation from their peers for presenting as feminine males. Additionally, many hijra reported facing abuse and humiliation from their teachers as well, making school an unfriendly and uncomfortable environment for them. These experiences ultimately resulted in their reluctance to attend school or continue education. This lack of education ends up playing a role in unemployment rates of Hijra. Hijra in Bangladesh also experience sexual harassment and abuse at work, being removed from their jobs when outed as hijra or denied from jobs in general. They face accusations of disturbing the workplace environment.[54]
Being turned away from traditional careers, many hijra have become involved in sex work. However, this has its own problems as Hijras face harassment, forced unprotected sex and assault from clients but many are not able to report it due to fear of harassment from the police as well.[54]
In 2002, nearly 5,000 people attended the All India Eunuch Conference held in Varanasi; the conference’s platform demanded that universities and government open more job opportunities to this population.[61] On 15 April 2014, in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India ruled that transgender people should be treated as a third category of gender or as a socially and economically “backward” class entitled to proportional access and representation in education and jobs.[62]
Beginning in 2006, hijras were engaged to accompany Patna city revenue officials to collect unpaid taxes, receiving a 4-percent commission.[63]
The hijra community developed a secret language known as Hijra Farsi.[64] The language has a sentence structure loosely based on Hindi[64] and a unique vocabulary of at least a thousand words.[citation needed] Some of the kinship terms and names for rituals used by the Hindi-speaking Hijra community are different in use from those used by people outside the Hijra community. For example, dādī, the Standard Hindi for paternal grandmother, is used in the Hijra community to address one’s guru’s guru.[65] Beyond the Urdu-Hindi speaking areas of subcontinent the vocabulary is still used by the hijra community within their own native languages.[citation needed]
Hijras protesting in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan
The governments of both India (1994)[66] and Pakistan (2009)[67] have recognised hijras as a “third sex”, thus granting them the basic civil rights of every citizen. In India, hijras now have the option to identify as a eunuch (“E”) on passports and on certain government documents.[citation needed] They are not, however, fully accommodated; in order to vote, for example, citizens must identify as either male or female. There is also further discrimination from the government. In the 2009 general election, India’s election committee denied three hijras candidature unless they identified themselves as either male or female. In 2013, transgender people in Pakistan were given their first opportunity to stand for election.[68]Sanam Fakir, a 32-year-old hijra, ran as an independent candidate for Sukkur, Pakistan’s general election in May.[69]
Seldom, our society realises or cares to realise the trauma, agony and pain which the members of Transgender community undergo, nor appreciates the innate feelings of the members of the Transgender community, especially of those whose mind and body disown their biological sex. Our society often ridicules and abuses the Transgender community and in public places like railway stations, bus stands, schools, workplaces, malls, theatres, hospitals, they are sidelined and treated as untouchables, forgetting the fact that the moral failure lies in the society’s unwillingness to contain or embrace different gender identities and expressions, a mindset which we have to change.
Justice Radhakrishnan said that transgender people should be treated consistently with other minorities under the law, enabling them to access jobs, healthcare and education.[71] He framed the issue as one of human rights, saying that, “These TGs, even though insignificant in numbers, are still human beings and therefore they have every right to enjoy their human rights”, concluding by declaring that:[70]
Hijras, Eunuchs, apart from binary gender, be treated as “third gender” for the purpose of safeguarding their rights under Part III of our Constitution and the laws made by the Parliament and the State Legislature.
Transgender persons’ right to decide their self-identified gender is also upheld and the Centre and State Governments are directed to grant legal recognition of their gender identity such as male, female or as third gender.
A bill supported by all political parties was tabled in Indian parliament to ensure transgender people get benefits akin reserved communities like SC/STs and is taking steps to see that they get enrollment in schools and jobs in government besides protection from sexual harassment.[72]
In the 1990s, about 10,000 people belonged to a national organisation called Treetiya Panthi Sanghatana (TPS). As of 2003, the president was Kajal Nayak.[73] A younger Kajal Nayak, who was 27 years old in 2019, is the president of Jajpur‘s Transgender Association.[74]
The Indian transgender hijras or Aravanis ritually marry the Hindu god Aravan and then mourn his ritual death (seen) in an 18-day festival in Koovagam, India.
Many practise a form of syncretism that draws on multiple religions; seeing themselves to be neither men nor women, hijras practice rituals for both men and women.
Bahuchara Mata is a Hindu goddess with two unrelated stories both associated with transgender behavior. One story is that she appeared in the avatar of a princess who castrated her husband because he would run in the woods and act like a woman rather than have sex with her.[citation needed] Another story is that a man tried to rape her, so she cursed him with impotence.[citation needed] When the man begged her forgiveness to have the curse removed, she relented only after he agreed to run in the woods and act like a woman.[citation needed] The primary temple to this goddess is located in Gujarat[75] and it is a place of pilgrimage for hijras, who see Bahuchara Mata as a patroness.
One of the forms of Shiva is called Ardhanarishvara, a composite representation with one half of the form featuring Parvati. Ardhanarishvara has special significance as a patron of hijras, who identify with the gender ambiguity.[75] According to legend, the sage Bhringi wished to venerate only Shiva, and ignored Parvati, while worshipping and circumambulating him. Agitated, Parvati cursed Bhringi to lose all his flesh and blood, reducing him to a skeleton. In this form Bhringi could not stand erect, so the compassionate ones who witnessed the scene blessed the sage with a third leg for support. As her attempt to humiliate the sage had failed, Parvati punished herself with austerities that pleased Shiva and led him to grant her the boon of uniting with him, thereby compelling Bhringi to worship the divine couple in the form of Ardhanarishvara, a combined form of the deities, believed to integrate the masculine and the feminine.[76]
In some versions of the Ramayana,[77] when Rama leaves Ayodhya for his 14-year exile, a crowd of his subjects follow him into the forest because of their devotion to him. Soon Rama notices this, and gathers them to tell them not to mourn, and that all the “men and women” of his kingdom should return to their places in Ayodhya. Rama then leaves for 14 years. When he returns to Ayodhya, he finds that the hijras, being neither men nor women, have not moved from the place where he gave his speech. Impressed with their devotion, Rama grants hijras the boon to confer blessings on people during auspicious inaugural occasions like childbirth and weddings. Specifically, hijras will perform and bestow their blessings when a son is born. This boon is the origin of badhai in which hijras sing, dance and give blessings.[78]
The Mahabharata includes an episode in which Arjuna, a hero of the epic, is sent into exile. There he assumes an identity of a eunuch-transvestite and performs rituals during weddings and childbirths that are now performed by hijras.[34]
In another episode, before the Kurukshetra War, Aravan offers his lifeblood to goddess Kali to ensure victory for the Pandavas, and Kali agrees. On the night before the battle, Aravan expresses a desire to get married before he dies. No woman was willing to marry a man doomed to die in a few hours, so Lord Krishna (as Mohini) marries him. In South India, hijras claim Aravan as their progenitor and call themselves aravanis.[78]
Each year in Tamil Nadu, during April and May, hijras celebrate an eighteen-day religious festival at a temple located in the village Koovagam in the Ulundurpettaluk in Villupuram district. The temple is devoted to the deity Koothandavar, who is identified with Aravan. During the festival, the hijras reenact the wedding of Lord Krishna and Lord Aravan, followed by Aravan’s subsequent sacrifice. They then mourn Aravan’s death through ritualistic dances and by breaking their bangles. An annual beauty pageant is also held, as well as various health and HIV/AIDS focused seminars. Hijras from all over the country travel to this festival. BBC Three documentary India’s Ladyboys as well as the National Geographic Channel television series Taboo depict personal experiences of hijras attending this festival.
There is evidence that Indian hijras identifying as Muslim also incorporate aspects of Hinduism. Still, despite this syncretism, Gayatri Reddy notes that hijra do not practise Islam differently from other Muslims and argues that their syncretism does not make them any less Muslim.[79] Reddy also documents an example of how this syncretism manifests: in Hyderabad, India, a group of Muslim converts were circumcised, something seen as the quintessential marker of male Muslim identity.[80]
Hijras have been portrayed on screen in Indian cinema since its inception, historically as comic relief. A notable turning point occurred in 1974 when real hijras appeared during a song-and-dance sequence in Kunwaara Baap (“The Unmarried Father”). The Hindi movie Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) features hijras who accompany one of the heroes, Akbar (Rishi Kapoor), in a song entitled “Tayyab Ali Pyar Ka Dushman” (“Tayyab Ali, the Enemy of Love”).
In Soorma Bhopali (1988), Jagdeep encounters a troupe of hijras on his arrival in Bombay. The leader of this pack is also played by Jagdeep himself.
One of the main characters in Khushwant Singh‘s novel Delhi (1990), Bhagmati, is a hijra. She makes a living as a semi-prostitute and is wanted in the diplomatic circles of the city.
One of the first sympathetic hijra portrayals was in Mani Ratnam’s Bombay (1995). 1997’s Tamanna[81] starred male actor Paresh Rawal in a central role as “Tiku”, a hijra who raises a young orphan. Pooja Bhatt produced and also starred in the movie, with her father Mahesh Bhatt co-writing and directing.
The 1997 Hindi film Darmiyaan: In Between, directed & co-written by Kalpana Lajmi, is based on the subject of hijras, with a fictitious story of an actress bearing a son that turns out to be neuter.
Kishor Shatabai Kale‘s novel, Hijara Ek Mard [Eunuch, A Man], was adapted for the stage in 1998. The play was titled Andharyatra.[82]
In the 2000 Tamil film Appu, directed by Vasanth and a remake of the Hindi film Sadak, the antagonist is a brothel-owning hijra played by Prakash Raj. (In Sadak, the brothel-owning character was played by Sadashiv Amrapurkar under the name “Maharani”.)
In Anil Kapoor‘s Nayak (2001), Johnny Lever, who plays the role of the hero’s assistant, gets beaten up by hijras, when he is caught calling them “hijra” (he is in habit of calling almost everyone who bothers him by this pejorative and no one cares much, except this once ironically, as the addressees are literally what he is calling them.)
There is a brief appearance of hijras in the 2004 Gurinder Chadha film Bride & Prejudice, singing to a bride-to-be in the marketplace.
Deepa Mehta’s controversial film Water (2005) features the hijra character “Gulabi” (played by Raghubir Yadav), who has taken to introducing the downtrodden, outcast widows of Varanasi to prostitution.
Vijay TV‘s Ippadikku Rose (2008), a Tamil show conducted by postgraduate educated transgender woman Rose, was a very successful program that discussed various issues faced by youth in Tamil Nadu, where she also gave her own experiences.
In addition to numerous other themes, the 2008 movie Welcome to Sajjanpur by Shyam Benegal explores the role of hijras in Indian society.
Jogwa, a 2009 Marathi film, depicts the story of a man forced to be hijra under certain circumstances. The movie has received several accolades.[83]
The 2011 film Queens! Destiny of Dance tells the story of an upmarket hijra community that is headed by their queen, Guru Amma, played by actress Seema Biswas.[84]
The 2011 comedy-horror Kanchana features an unemployed man who is possessed by a transgender woman seeking revenge against her murderers.
The 2020 comedy-horror Laxmii, based on Kanchana, features the actor Akshay Kumar, a cisgender man who usually plays hypermasculine roles, in the role of a Muslim man who begins crossdressing because he is possessed by the ghost of a transgender woman.[85]
In the 2004 film ‘Bride and Prejudice‘, directed by Gurinder Chadha, a group of hijras make an appearance during the ‘A Marriage Has Come to Town’ number, in which they dance and sing the following lyrics: “Who can tell you more about Yin & Yang?/Sharing one spirit between woman and man/Marriage is the path taken by he and she/May your new life be kissed by harmony.”
In the Malayalam movie Ardhanaari, released on 23 November 2012, director Santhosh Sowparnika depicts the life of a transgender person. Manoj K Jayan, Thilakan, Sukumari and Maniyanpilla Raju perform leading roles.
Vaadamalli by novelist Su. Samuthiram is the first Tamil novel about the Aravaani community in Tamil Nadu, published in 1994.
Transgender activist A. Revathi became the first hijra to write about transgender issues and gender politics in Tamil. Her works have been translated into more than eight languages and act as primary resources on gender studies in Asia. Her book is part of a research project for more than 100 universities. She is the author of Unarvum Uruvamum (Feeling and Form), the first of its kind in English from a member of the hijra community.[87][88] She acted and directed stage plays on gender and sexuality issues in Tamil and Kannada. The Truth about Me: A Hijra Life Story[89] is part of the syllabus for final year students of The American College in Madurai.
“Naan Saravanan Alla” (2007) and Vidya’s I Am Vidya (2008) were the first autobiographies of trans women.[90][91]
The 1992 film Immaculate Conception[92] by Jamil Dehlavi is based upon the culture-clash between a western Jewish couple seeking fertility at a Karachi shrine known to be blessed by a Sufi fakir called ‘Gulab Shah’ and the group of Pakistani eunuchs who guard it.
Murad (English: desire, but the film’s English title was Eunuch’s Motherhood), was an award-winning biographical telefilm drama made by Evergreen Media Europe for Pakistan’s television channel Indus TV that aired in 2003. It featured some of the country’s top male television actors—Sohail Asghar, Nabeel, Qazi Wajid, and Kamran Jilani playing the roles of hijras. It was directed by Kamran Qureshi, written by Zafar Mairaj and produced by Iram Qureshi. It won both Best TeleFilm and Best Director awards at 2003 Indus Telefilm Festival.[93][94] The story revolves around Saima, a transgender woman, who adopts a child named Murad. For the first time, influential male actors showed their support for hijra rights during interviews, pointing out that in Pakistani English at that time eunuch was the term to describe a transgender person, and khwaja sara had not yet replaced what is now considered a derogatory term due to decades of heckling and name calling.[95][96]
In 2004, Kamran Qureshi directed Moorat (English: effigy, released in English under the title Eunuch’s Wedding). It a 33-episode series produced by Humayun Saeed and Abdullah Kadwani with more than a dozen cast members.[97][98] It was nominated for Best Drama Serial, Abid Ali for Best Actor, and Maria Wasti for Best Actress at the Lux Style Awards 2005.[93][99] The show was credited with making people understand the pain and abuse that hijra constantly endure when people make fun of the way they look or dress. The story involves a young lady who is engaged to be married. It turns out her husband is transgender. The story unfolds the trans community and their deprived and isolated world. It portrays eloquently how they, too, are not far away from human emotions and feelings and their world is not much different from the heterosexual community. Even though they are in plain sight, they are taboo subjects and are not taken seriously. This makes them suffer endlessly in silence wrapped in slurs. The 33-episode series therefore touches on transgender abuse, abuse against women, poverty, the immorality of arranged marriages and child abuse.[100]
Bol (Urdu: بول meaning Speak), is a 2011 Urdu-language Pakistani social drama film. It concerns a patriarch, Hakim, who is a misogynist, a domestic abuser, a bigot and a zealot who forces religion on his family. They face financial difficulties due to Hakim wanting a son. He rejects his transgender daughter, Saifi, as he wanted an heir and she identifies as a girl. Saifi is deeply loved by the rest of her family. As she grows up, men want to take advantage of her and she does not understand at first. However, her oldest sister intervenes and teaches Saifi about what kind of touching is inappropriate. As Saifi grows older, she is not allowed to leave the house. She finds her sister’s dresses compelling and tries them on, revealing her gender identity. A neighbour, played by famous South Asian singer Atif Aslam, who is in love with one of the sisters, gets Saifi a job at a place where they paint trucks, with the blessing of Saifi’s sisters and mother. Saifi dresses like a boy; however, other boys sense her lack of self-esteem and eventually gang-rape her. She is saved when another transgender person, played by Almas Bobby (a transgender actor), finds her and takes her home. Hakim overhears Saifi telling her mother and Zainab what happened. When everybody is asleep, Hakim locks the room and suffocates Saifi for the “shame” he would have to bear if the story got out.[101] It received several positive reviews from critics and went on to win the Best Hindi film award in IRDS Film awards 2011 by Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS).[citation needed]
New York, N.Y. –– Alan Turing was a pioneering mathematician and logician whose work laid the foundations for modern computing. During World War II, Turing’s brilliance was instrumental in breaking the Enigma code, a critical factor in the Allied victory.
However, despite his monumental contributions, Turing’s life ended in tragedy. In 1952, he was prosecuted by the British government for his homosexuality, then illegal, and was subjected to chemical castration.
Two years later, he died from cyanide poisoning, widely believed to be suicide. Turing’s story is a powerful reminder of the destructive consequences of intolerance and the loss of a mind that could have continued to shape the future.
This tragic tale is poignantly captured in the 2014 film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing. The movie dramatizes Turing’s achievements and struggles, highlighting his role in the war effort and the personal battles he faced due to his sexual orientation.
While some creative liberties were taken, the film brought Turing’s story to a wider audience, shedding light on both his genius and the injustices he endured. The Imitation Game serves as a tribute to Turing’s legacy and a reminder of the human cost of prejudice.
