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Indian Supreme Court Officially Recognises "Third Gender"

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  • 16-04-2014 3:58pm
    #1
    Rick_
    Registered Users Posts: 2,606 ✭✭✭


    http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/india-supreme-court-recognizes-transgender-people-third-gender150414

    As the article says, India's Supreme Court has ruled that transgender people are now allowed to be classed as a new, third gender if they so wish instead of the gender they transition to and if they choose this new third option, they will also be recognised as "an economically and socially discriminated against" gender and will receive extra help in getting employment and education.

    A public awareness campaign is to be started to lessen homophobia against transgender Indians and a third public bathroom for them as well as now having equal rights for adoption.


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    #2
    Cyclonus
    Registered Users Posts: 17 ✭Cyclonus


    That's still bigoted, transsexuals aren't a third gender. I think they should bring in third gender laws for intersexed people though.


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    #3
    Ambersky
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,220 ✭✭✭Ambersky


    The article says Cyclonus that
    The court also found that if a person undergoes surgery to change his or her sex then they are entitled to be legally recognized as the gender they have transitioned to.

    So there is the option to be recognised male or female but India has a different history of looking at gender than we do in the West. Some people have been self identifying as third gender for many years and seem to want to continue in this tradition which has a place for them in Indian culture.

    Indian culture has traditionally recognized transgender individuals as ‘hijras’ and many have traditionally viewed themselves as a third gender separate to male or female. -

    I find this very interesting and I like the idea of a challenge to gender as simply a choice of being either male or female. In discussions on gender I mainly hear people wanting to be one or the other I rarely hear discussions on being happy with ambiguity or mutability. Im not saying I dont recognise it is important for many people to be recognised for the gender they are but I like seeing challenges to the binary of male or female from anyone not just trans people but gay and straight cis people too

    There are other cultures who have looked at gender differently than we do Native Canadian and Native American cultures have a tradition of people being Two Spirit
    http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/11/two-spirit-people-north-america


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    #4
    Annasopra
    Registered Users Posts: 40,797 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    Cyclonus wrote: »
    That's still bigoted, transsexuals aren't a third gender. I think they should bring in third gender laws for intersexed people though.

    I'm really failing to understand your point at all.
    1 Some trans people do define as non gender binary
    2 The law still allows people to identify as male or female
    3 Gender and sex are different so while an intersex person has characteristics of male and female sex they do define as male or female gender so categorising all intersex people as third gender wouldn't work.

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



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    #5
    Cyclonus
    Registered Users Posts: 17 ✭Cyclonus


    Sorry, maybe I'm just ignorant. I thought that trans people didn't identify as the gender they were born with, but they still identified strongly as the opposite gender. Sorry, not trying to be offensive, I clearly have some research to do.


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    #6
    Ambersky
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,220 ✭✭✭Ambersky


    I freely admit I have more to learn about gender and sex its an area that interest me but I am still confused and working it out in my head. Your not alone Cyclonus I think I can see where you are coming from, it seems simple and then you find out its actually more complex than you first thought


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    #7
    Annasopra
    Registered Users Posts: 40,797 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    Cyclonus wrote: »
    Sorry, maybe I'm just ignorant. I thought that trans people didn't identify as the gender they were born with, but they still identified strongly as the opposite gender. Sorry, not trying to be offensive, I clearly have some research to do.

    Not always. Transgender is an umbrella that covers people who identify as the opposite gender to the sex they were assigned at birth but also people who identified as non gender binary i.e. neither male nor female.

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



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