The Third Sex

Before viewing the video, I would have defined gender as the expectations, activities, and outcomes of belonging to a specific sex but those sexes in my definition would have been restricted to the biological male and female – that is, born as either a girl or a boy and thereby destined to take-on distinct roles and responsibilities thereafter.  Thus, to me gender meant the way our society expects its male and female citizens to operate.

However, reflecting on The Third Sex, some cultures have a more expansive definition of gender.  Using these, my definition was self-limiting in that I was constrained to ‘biological male and female.’ The Third Sex demonstrated a broader gender context through the experiences of the Hijras of India , the five-gender beliefs of Indonesians living on Segeri Island, and the sworn virgins of rural Albanian who gain respect in their society by dressing like and taking on the role of men.  These aspects of Indian, Indonesian, and Albanian cultures deviate from the strictly two-gender models of western civilizations.  However, these beliefs are not typical or widely-accepted within their own respective cultures.  As The Third Sex pointed out, Albania’s sworn virgins may number as few as 40 representatives because Albanian society has been modernized, reducing the need for this gender, while Hijras are marginalized in their culture, rejected by family and society.  However, in April 2014 India’s Supreme Court officially recognized Hijras as a “third gender” with quotas set-aside to bolster Hijra participation in colleges and inclusion in government (see http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/16/india-third-gender-claims-place-in-law).  This mirrors the US landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the related creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end racial discrimination.  So, while Hijras may be socially outcast according to 2102’s The Third Sex, there was more recent legislation enacted to increase Hijra’s inclusion and participation within modern Indian culture.   

I would also offer an additional perspective now that I think of third gender as discussed in another course I took at TCNJ last semester:  Early China (HIS 131).  As early as the Han Dynasty (221 B.C. – 220 A.D.), men who were not born into the royal family sought to influence and rule the unified Chinese empire as eunuchs.  These men were educated and accepted as advisors at court.  They ultimately became powerful and corrupt, seeking to influence the emperor and/or plotting to overthrow those whom they could not dominate by placing young blood-Han relations on the throne.  Clearly, these men were given the honor of serving the emperor and became highly influential on the rise and development of their society.  So, I would offer the eunuchs of China as an example of another “third gender” which was both accepted and revered by an early, developed Asian society.  What could be done is to include a third gender discussion regarding the high-ranking Chinese eunuchs in the Early China class to expand student awareness of the cultural aspects of gender within our studies.