The infamous debate among the youth about “Youtube v/s TikTok” raised a very important question regarding our sensitivity towards the “third gender”. We might have been modernized, but our perception of the third gender is still inhumane. We still do see them differently. Proof of this is that in our day to day life we often come across phrases like “chhakka hai kya?”, “hijada hai kya?” “Talli bajayega”, etc. to young boys or adult males who do not act manly enough. Isn’t it high time that we take a break and realize that such casual phrases are the seeds that later generate discrimination and partial hatred towards the third gender community? The patriarchy since time immemorial has fed our minds with certain concepts, viz. we associate, strong with masculinity and being sensitive to feminine. The impact of this unreasonable differentiation is that we now see everyone as being different, to be beneath us. Even in the progressive world, we treat communities of third gender/transgender inhumanly. Instead of acknowledging them as an individual, we see them as disgrace and inauspicious. Though their legal status may have been improved yet the perspective of society remains the same.
Chaz Bono an American writer, musician and actor once said
“There’s a gender in your brain and a gender in your body. For 99 percent of people, those things are in alignment. For transgender people, they’re mismatched. That’s all it is. It’s not complicated, it’s not a neurosis. It’s a mix up. It’s a birth defect, like a cleft palate.’’
In order to define or describe who is a transgender person, it is necessary to establish a basic understanding of what gender is and how and by who it is determined. To the question, how and by whom is this gender determined, we first need to understand that none of us is born with a gender, rather gender is assigned to each one of us based on the kind of primary sexual characteristics or external genitalia we are born with. Thus, an infant born with genitalia looking like a “vagina” is assigned gender female at birth and an infant born with genitalia looking like a “penis” is assigned gender male at birth. Having established that gender is assigned, we must understand that the assigned gender at birth may or may not match with person’s idea of their own gender while growing up. As a result, some may grow up with a sense of comfort and alignment between their ‘felt’ or own sense of gender and the gender assigned to them known as ‘cisgender’. And there would be some whose own/inner sense of gender does not match with the gender assigned to them such persons are said to be ‘transgender’ In simple words, a transgender is a person whose gender identity or expression does not match the sex they are assigned at birth.
Cisgender or transgender both have one thing in common i.e. they are born as humankind and, by virtue, inherited with human rights. Yet, society sees the third gender community as less, discriminating against them because they are not following the “gender norms”. The patriarchy is not the only one to be blamed, the Bollywood equally contributes to demeaning the status of transgenders. In the majority of the movies for years, transgender’s roles are subjected to mocking, very few art pieces showcase the sensitivity towards them. We preach that we all are the almighty’s creation, but when it comes to respecting transgender, we have our reservations. Isn’t this hypocrisy?
In ancient times, the status of third gender people was different and they were respected. The concept of ‘tritiyaprakriti’ or ‘napumsaka’ has been an integral part of Hindu mythology, folklore, epic and early Vedic and Puranic literatures. The term ‘napumsaka’ has been used to denote the absence of procreative ability, presented by signifying differences between masculine and female makers. In the epic Ramayana, when Lord Rama was living in the forest, he asked all his followers to return to the city. Among his followers, the hijras alone did feel bound and decided to stay with him. Impressed with their loyalty, the Lord gave them the power to confer blessings on the people on auspicious occasions viz. child birth, marriage and also at inaugural functions which were supposed to set the stage for the custom of Bahai in which hijras sing, dance and confer blessings.
The status of transgender has been changed over the years. In Mughal sultanate, they played an important role. They were trusted to guard and protect women’s palaces. They enjoyed influential positions and were given a lot of respect. However, the outlook towards them has changed drastically during British Raj. The British considered the hijras as ‘a branch of public decency’ and categorised them as a ‘criminal tribe’ or ‘criminal caste’ under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was used as an instrument of harassment and physical abuse against third gender persons. As a result, the third gender community were ripped off their civil rights and status. The social and economic discrimination acted as catalysts in cutting them off from society. They faced difficulty in finding work and were often exploited because of their identities.
The problems that the third gender’s often face, viz. discrimination or outcast, employment, education, toilet facilities, etc. are prevalent, mainly because firstly we do not acknowledge their needs and we do not bother to make efforts to understand their perspective, desire and mental state. Their status changed from the British Raj has affected our outlook towards them. The mockery towards them we do at present is evident enough to showcase our lack of respect for them. The attitude of society towards these people is the sole reason why parents of a third gender decide to abandon them in their childhood. In a nation where a girl child is considered to be a burden, it is no surprise that a third gender child is left alone to live by himself. The fear of ‘what others would think?’ Pushes these children into darkness, which later runs into a vicious circle of exploitation. Till the time we stop seeing them as a disgrace the plight of their poor lives will continue. Though the Supreme Court judgement in NALSA v/s UOI gives the right to people to legally recognise themselves as a ‘third gender’, giving the opportunity to transgenders to decide their gender and choose their identity. It is indeed a tremendous effort taken by the judiciary to give opportunity and equality to these people and dictation to central and state governments to make more schemes for their welfare. But this is not enough, we still have a long battle to win. We need to take more proactive steps. We need to upgrade our laws. For instance, under personal laws, only a man and a woman can get married. Under IPC provisions of the rape offence only, a woman can be a victim. If we desire to have a gender-neutral society, then we have to also acknowledge the rights of transgender along with men and women.
*The Author has completed her LL.M from Symbiosis Law School.
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author and not to the Jurisedge Academy.
Readers may submit his/her blog for publication. Click Here or Scan the QR Code to submit your Manuscript.
Saurabh Kumar
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Author- Veronicca Prasad*
The infamous debate among the youth about “Youtube v/s TikTok” raised a very important question regarding our sensitivity towards the “third gender”. We might have been modernized, but our perception of the third gender is still inhumane. We still do see them differently. Proof of this is that in our day to day life we often come across phrases like “chhakka hai kya?”, “hijada hai kya?” “Talli bajayega”, etc. to young boys or adult males who do not act manly enough. Isn’t it high time that we take a break and realize that such casual phrases are the seeds that later generate discrimination and partial hatred towards the third gender community? The patriarchy since time immemorial has fed our minds with certain concepts, viz. we associate, strong with masculinity and being sensitive to feminine. The impact of this unreasonable differentiation is that we now see everyone as being different, to be beneath us. Even in the progressive world, we treat communities of third gender/transgender inhumanly. Instead of acknowledging them as an individual, we see them as disgrace and inauspicious. Though their legal status may have been improved yet the perspective of society remains the same.
Chaz Bono an American writer, musician and actor once said
“There’s a gender in your brain and a gender in your body. For 99 percent of people, those things are in alignment. For transgender people, they’re mismatched. That’s all it is. It’s not complicated, it’s not a neurosis. It’s a mix up. It’s a birth defect, like a cleft palate.’’
In order to define or describe who is a transgender person, it is necessary to establish a basic understanding of what gender is and how and by who it is determined. To the question, how and by whom is this gender determined, we first need to understand that none of us is born with a gender, rather gender is assigned to each one of us based on the kind of primary sexual characteristics or external genitalia we are born with. Thus, an infant born with genitalia looking like a “vagina” is assigned gender female at birth and an infant born with genitalia looking like a “penis” is assigned gender male at birth. Having established that gender is assigned, we must understand that the assigned gender at birth may or may not match with person’s idea of their own gender while growing up. As a result, some may grow up with a sense of comfort and alignment between their ‘felt’ or own sense of gender and the gender assigned to them known as ‘cisgender’. And there would be some whose own/inner sense of gender does not match with the gender assigned to them such persons are said to be ‘transgender’ In simple words, a transgender is a person whose gender identity or expression does not match the sex they are assigned at birth.
Cisgender or transgender both have one thing in common i.e. they are born as humankind and, by virtue, inherited with human rights. Yet, society sees the third gender community as less, discriminating against them because they are not following the “gender norms”. The patriarchy is not the only one to be blamed, the Bollywood equally contributes to demeaning the status of transgenders. In the majority of the movies for years, transgender’s roles are subjected to mocking, very few art pieces showcase the sensitivity towards them. We preach that we all are the almighty’s creation, but when it comes to respecting transgender, we have our reservations. Isn’t this hypocrisy?
In ancient times, the status of third gender people was different and they were respected. The concept of ‘tritiyaprakriti’ or ‘napumsaka’ has been an integral part of Hindu mythology, folklore, epic and early Vedic and Puranic literatures. The term ‘napumsaka’ has been used to denote the absence of procreative ability, presented by signifying differences between masculine and female makers. In the epic Ramayana, when Lord Rama was living in the forest, he asked all his followers to return to the city. Among his followers, the hijras alone did feel bound and decided to stay with him. Impressed with their loyalty, the Lord gave them the power to confer blessings on the people on auspicious occasions viz. child birth, marriage and also at inaugural functions which were supposed to set the stage for the custom of Bahai in which hijras sing, dance and confer blessings.
The status of transgender has been changed over the years. In Mughal sultanate, they played an important role. They were trusted to guard and protect women’s palaces. They enjoyed influential positions and were given a lot of respect. However, the outlook towards them has changed drastically during British Raj. The British considered the hijras as ‘a branch of public decency’ and categorised them as a ‘criminal tribe’ or ‘criminal caste’ under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was used as an instrument of harassment and physical abuse against third gender persons. As a result, the third gender community were ripped off their civil rights and status. The social and economic discrimination acted as catalysts in cutting them off from society. They faced difficulty in finding work and were often exploited because of their identities.
The problems that the third gender’s often face, viz. discrimination or outcast, employment, education, toilet facilities, etc. are prevalent, mainly because firstly we do not acknowledge their needs and we do not bother to make efforts to understand their perspective, desire and mental state. Their status changed from the British Raj has affected our outlook towards them. The mockery towards them we do at present is evident enough to showcase our lack of respect for them. The attitude of society towards these people is the sole reason why parents of a third gender decide to abandon them in their childhood. In a nation where a girl child is considered to be a burden, it is no surprise that a third gender child is left alone to live by himself. The fear of ‘what others would think?’ Pushes these children into darkness, which later runs into a vicious circle of exploitation. Till the time we stop seeing them as a disgrace the plight of their poor lives will continue. Though the Supreme Court judgement in NALSA v/s UOI gives the right to people to legally recognise themselves as a ‘third gender’, giving the opportunity to transgenders to decide their gender and choose their identity. It is indeed a tremendous effort taken by the judiciary to give opportunity and equality to these people and dictation to central and state governments to make more schemes for their welfare. But this is not enough, we still have a long battle to win. We need to take more proactive steps. We need to upgrade our laws. For instance, under personal laws, only a man and a woman can get married. Under IPC provisions of the rape offence only, a woman can be a victim. If we desire to have a gender-neutral society, then we have to also acknowledge the rights of transgender along with men and women.
*The Author has completed her LL.M from Symbiosis Law School.
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author and not to the Jurisedge Academy.
Readers may submit his/her blog for publication. Click Here or Scan the QR Code to submit your Manuscript.
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