Gender: cultural curiosities and big issues from India and Thailand
In Chapter 20 of the book, (Sex and sexual orientation), I wrote about the sensitivity of minority gender and sexual orientation issues, including: the adaptation of documentation to take account of same-sex couples, whether in legal or informal partnerships; the recording of next-of-kin choices; personal pronouns and names for transgender and transsexual individuals – and several more important questions.
Two international news stories draw attention to special cases of these issues, which are interesting and revealing. The first, reported in the Bangkok Post 20 April, 2009, relates to hijras – the people of the ‘third sex’, thought to number at least a million individuals in India (and more elsewhere in S.E. Asia).
Although the term ‘eunuch’ is used in English, it is not certain how many hijras have actually been castrated, though some certainly have and are often regarded as the pure expression of that form of being. The category as a whole, probably labelled ‘transgender’ in Western circles, may encompass the terms transsexual, transvestite, hermaphrodite, androgyne, intersex, and true eunuch status.
Here are some extracts from the Bangkok Post article:
India’s one million eunuchs face a unique dilemma every election season — do they stand in the men’s or women’s queue at polling stations or stay away altogether?
In the past, eunuchs — the term used for cross-dressers, pre- and post-operative transsexuals known here as hijras — have largely abstained from casting their ballots because they are unwilling to identify themselves as male or female on voter registration forms.
‘While some eunuchs do vote by listing themselves as female, many are pushing for an alternative or ‘third sex’ option on identity cards, after being granted the franchise in 1994.
And later:
Despite the stigma surrounding them, a campaign to recognise eunuchs as a third sex has yielded some results.
They can now write ‘E’ for eunuch on passports and on certain government forms, but the quest for acceptance at the ballot box – where they have to identify themselves as male or female – still eludes them in culturally conservative India.
This highlights, at a social and political level, issues which will be highly relevant to individual patients HCPs will meet from time to time in practice in many different cultures. The primary challenge is being able to respond to patients in ways which match their own view of themselves, and particularly not forcing them into categories which they feel, or are, offensive and/or inaccurate. The categories of ‘male’ and female’ on documentation are not sufficient any more than are the limited options of ‘married/single/divorced’ (when some patients may be in legal or informal same-sex partnerships).
The dilemma of toilets
This second story comes from the Pattaya Daily News in Thailand. It’s one of those tales which reinforces my affection for this endearing, resourceful and unpredictable country (with its dark side, too).
ISARN SCHOOL BUILDS UNI-SEX TOILET FOR ITS KATOEYS
A high school in North-eastern Thailand has set new precedents by building a toilet for katoey (ladies of the second category) students. Kampang School in Isarn conducted a survey among their students and discovered that nearly 260 students considered themselves katoeys. Accordingly, the school decided to create a unisex toilet for their student-ladies of the second category…the toilet has a sign reading ‘Transvestite Toilet’ with an androgynous symbol – half man in blue and half woman in red.
[After consulting several experts and dictionaries, I have not yet found a translation of the (possibly local dialect) words, and I doubt if 'transvestite' as reported in the newspaper story is correct. New info 22-04-09: the Thai word probably translates best as 'transgender', encompassing all kinds of - in this case male - gender variations. The word is of ancient origin, from the Pali language.]
In the book, I wrote about icon-identified toilets and the problems transgender people can have with choice and with the reactions of others to their choice. Here, in a culture, in many (but not all) ways relaxed with ambiguity, an honest and practical solution to an issue of concern has been found.
The paper reports that: ‘Apparently, the transgender students are overjoyed about the new toilet, because they will no longer have to suffer dirty looks from their peers.’ It seems that adolescent tolerance extends only so far!
One of the extraordinary aspects of rural communities in north eastern Thailand (Isarn), where agriculture provides the tough daily reality of most people’s lives, and where you’d expect a comprehensively macho male culture, is the number of effeminate men and transgender individuals. They are a sizable minority with an often high local profile and are regarded with anything from respect or possessive affection to mild satire.
To my knowledge, there are few places, however, even in Thailand, where any other institution has actually surveyed its population on such issues, as this school has, and sought to meet their wishes. It’s doubtful that such attitudes of simple, respectful maturity can be found in many places in the whole world.
Bangkok post link: India’s eunuchs face ‘third sex’ vote dilemma
Pattaya Daily News link: ISARN SCHOOL BUILDS UNI-SEX TOILET FOR ITS KATOEYS
Tags: elections, eunuch, gender, gender categories, gender documentation, gender icons, hijra, India, katoey, Thailand, toilets, transgender
Very professional article, I liked reading it. It had many outstanding facts. I’m bookmarking this web page.