ANTHR-130 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Ascribed Status, Bsc Young Boys, Achieved Status
12 Oct 2020
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Third sex/gender: the hijras in india: men, women and neither- biologically can be born with both male and female genitalia (hijras, biologically hijras are usually male- however they dress, body posture, names are female. They usually live in communities with one another: they are not men in the sense that they cannot father children because they are impotent (cannot hold erection) or they do not want to have sex with a woman. Man = father: you are not a woman because you cannot bear children. Woman = mother: the hijras are people who cannot give life so they are feared and revered (sacred) they have the power to bestow fertility on others. They perform at weddings (dance, sing, bless: they are feared because they can also take away fertility, ascetic- holy devoted to mother goddess and abstain from sex. They however usually do sex work with men.
