Masculine characteristics are referred to as aggressive, more logical, made for policy level decisions and heading the families among others whereas feminine characteristics implicate more emotional, loving, depending and caring nature, which leads to assisting people and devoting their lives to others.
Exception
However, despite hundreds of historical examples about exceptions to these generalized sex identities, there are some humans who don?t fall under the category of either male or female. Although it is said that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, these people are often deprived of some rights.
Some organizations working for the rights of the people claim that they are neither male nor female. They say that these individuals are different than the general sex identities i.e. man and woman. They are somewhere in the middle, means, they possess characteristics of both men and women. Either they look like a man but behave like a woman or vice versa. The advocates claim that these people should be called the third gender (most commonly known as transgender) people who want to become a woman, despite being a man by nature, or a man despite being a woman by nature.
This is really very new for many people and is difficult to grasp that a man wants to be called ?she?, wants to have a boy friend, wants to wear minis and wants to look pretty with makeovers. In many cases, the family is against this man and they want him to be a man and marry a girl and live a life of a son, which is not acceptable to him. This brings conflict and the family doesn?t support him.
Besides the family issue, the state has its pre-supposition that the men and women living in this territory shall be moral and should fulfill all their duties. The state doesn?t assume beyond the existence of a man and a woman, which is the thrust in every equality clauses made to make women equal to men. However, there are some people who claim are from the third gender group, not from male or female group. The state rejects their idea and keeps silent on their issues.
The question now is why the state should speak about them because if we look back at history, we cannot find a term to show respect to them. For example, a male is called ?he? and a female ?she?. Grammatically, there is a neuter gender, which is called ?it?. So from this point of view, the person falling under this category can be called ?it?, whereas the term ?it? indicates the non-living thing that is an object. This makes them objects, not humans.
To make it clearer, reference can be taken from Criminology. In the ?Text Book on Criminology?, Katherine S Williams, discussed the genetic abnormalities, which are the result of chromosomal mutations at the time of conception. She has given emphasis on the two different chromosomal conditions of human which include XXY and XYY chromosomes. At the time of conception the sperm and ovum unite to form a single cell. A normal male has the X chromosome from the mother via ovum and Y chromosome from the father via sperm. However, sometimes the sperm and ova contain more than one sex chromosome which lead to abnormalities in sex characteristics of the individual. In such a case abnormal males can be XYY, if there is an extra Y or male chromosome, and abnormal females can be XXY, if there is an extra X or female chromosome.
The writer further says that the XXY is known as Klinefelter?s syndrome and is generally related to degeneration of the testes, sterility, a tendency towards homosexual fantasies or a general disinterest in sexual activity. The XYY, on the other hand, is named as ?Supermale? because of the extra Y on the male chromosome. It is argued that the supermale is more aggressive and more criminal. However, the writer has agreed at last that the chromosome abnormality and criminality are not closely related.
The book has raised the issue of the persons who are now known as the Third Sex. I am not an expert in medical science, therefore, I have to rely on the findings of people who conduct researches on these issues, however, as a human rights lawyer it is my duty to raise the issue of the person with so called abnormal genetic condition and is considered as a different sex. The book referred above has considered the person with extra chromosome an abnormal person and they are more pro-homosexuals.
The question now is about who is heterosexual and who is homosexual. Generally, a person with male chromosome is attracted to a female with femalechromosome or vice versa, that is a heterosexual condition, which is accepted by the law and the society. Now, if a male is attracted to another male, female to female, XYY or supermale to supermale and XXY to XXY, then it is called homosexual attraction. Otherwise, if an XXY is attracted to XY or XX or XYY, then undoubtedly that is a heterosexual condition. It becomes really interesting in this point to see the reality about heterosexual conditions where there is attraction between persons with different chromosomal conditions. But because of the present socio-legal orientation about sex, heterosexual condition is limited to the sexual attraction between a man and a woman. From here, the exclusion and abandonment of the third sex prevails and this puts them into illusion.
Elaboration
In fact, the egalitarian philosophy of law, elaborated by Philosopher John Rawls, says that those who are marginalized and in minority, their issues should be prioritized in all aspects of law and society. From this point of view, it is obvious and inevitable that the third sex are real people but in minority, they are not yet protected by the law and their issues and different needs are never the priority of the state to respect, protect and fulfill. Therefore, to analyze the concerns of third sex individuals, human rights analysts and advocates have to raise the voices to identify the needs and rights of these persons, which would make them real persons from their present status of illusive persons
Saturday, November 27, 2010
In the context of Nepal
Gays and Lesbian were always frowned upon in the conservative Nepalese society. Gay men and women and members of other sexual minorities have long complained of discrimination in Nepal. some time back Nepal's supreme Court has ordered government to scrap laws that discriminate against homosexual. Now Nepal government has formally accepted third gender.
The term “third gender” is used in Nepal to refer to those who are neither heterosexual nor transgendered, and while one could argue that this all-encompassing term is problematic insofar as it blurs the distinction between sexuality and gender, Adhikari’s success in being officially recognised as third gender is a sign of positive change in a country where traditional conservatism is being shaken up by political developments including the abolition of the monarchy and the increased dominance of the Maoist party, who claim to represent poor and minority groups.
The term “third gender” has been used in the country to refer to gay men, lesbians, and bisexual and transgender people.
On Wednesday, Bishnu Adhikari, 21, became the first person to receive such recognition in Nepal, where homosexuality and premarital sex are strongly taboo.
Krishna Adhikari, regional coordinator of gay rights organisation Naulo Bihani, said that Bishnu Adhikari’s request to be classified as “third gender” was rejected by officials.
The officials said that, as Miss Adhikari appeared male, she would be classified as male on her ID card. After Miss Adhikari refused to accept this, they eventually agreed to her request.
Miss Adhikari is a human rights officer at the Blue Diamond Society, a gay rights organisation.
She was inspired to apply for the third gender classification after a visit from out gay lawmaker and founder of the Blue Diamond Society, Sunil Babu Pant in Pokhara.
Mr Pant, 35, is a member of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly. He has used this position to campaign for gay equality, by giving presentations to other assembly members on homosexuality.
The LGBT community in Nepal, called “sexual minorities” by the Nepalese government, were granted equality to heterosexual citizens in some areas of legislation in December 2007.
In what has been called a landmark piece of legislation, the Supreme Court passed a judgement that said that gays and lesbians were “natural” people, and placed the responsibility for removing homophobic discrimination with the government.
although there is no law in Nepal that recognises the couple’s marriage yet, there have been some policy changes in Nepal, which have been in favour of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community. On Dec. 21, 2007 Nepal’s Supreme Court (SC) declared that all discriminatory laws against LGBTI people must be repealed by the government, and provision must be made for recognition of the 'third gender' on government documents. Nepal is the only country in South Asia to provide such rights.
"It took a lot of lobbying, discussions, organising, talking, pressuring" says Sunil Babu Pant, founder of Blue Diamond Society (BDS) an NGO that reaches out to the LGBTI community through education, healthcare and advocacy. "Not only are the third gender now recognised, but political parties Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and Communist Party of Nepal (United) have clauses recognising sexual minorities in their party manifestos," adds Pant, who recently made headlines for being the first person from the LGBTI community to represent CPN (U) in Nepal’s constituent assembly.
Nepal has been slowly making progress in terms of LGBTI rights. In February this year a local bank produced application forms that included the third option of "others" under the gender category. Similarly, BDS and the Supreme Court are looking into forming a seven-member committee to explore the legalisation of same-sex marriages.
Most LGBTI come from remote parts of Nepal. Throughout Nepal over 120,000 people from the LGBTI community are in touch with the BDS through its offices in 25 districts. The community predicts that there may be around 900,000 LGBTI in the country.
The term “third gender” is used in Nepal to refer to those who are neither heterosexual nor transgendered, and while one could argue that this all-encompassing term is problematic insofar as it blurs the distinction between sexuality and gender, Adhikari’s success in being officially recognised as third gender is a sign of positive change in a country where traditional conservatism is being shaken up by political developments including the abolition of the monarchy and the increased dominance of the Maoist party, who claim to represent poor and minority groups.
The term “third gender” has been used in the country to refer to gay men, lesbians, and bisexual and transgender people.
On Wednesday, Bishnu Adhikari, 21, became the first person to receive such recognition in Nepal, where homosexuality and premarital sex are strongly taboo.
Krishna Adhikari, regional coordinator of gay rights organisation Naulo Bihani, said that Bishnu Adhikari’s request to be classified as “third gender” was rejected by officials.
The officials said that, as Miss Adhikari appeared male, she would be classified as male on her ID card. After Miss Adhikari refused to accept this, they eventually agreed to her request.
Miss Adhikari is a human rights officer at the Blue Diamond Society, a gay rights organisation.
She was inspired to apply for the third gender classification after a visit from out gay lawmaker and founder of the Blue Diamond Society, Sunil Babu Pant in Pokhara.
Mr Pant, 35, is a member of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly. He has used this position to campaign for gay equality, by giving presentations to other assembly members on homosexuality.
The LGBT community in Nepal, called “sexual minorities” by the Nepalese government, were granted equality to heterosexual citizens in some areas of legislation in December 2007.
In what has been called a landmark piece of legislation, the Supreme Court passed a judgement that said that gays and lesbians were “natural” people, and placed the responsibility for removing homophobic discrimination with the government.
although there is no law in Nepal that recognises the couple’s marriage yet, there have been some policy changes in Nepal, which have been in favour of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community. On Dec. 21, 2007 Nepal’s Supreme Court (SC) declared that all discriminatory laws against LGBTI people must be repealed by the government, and provision must be made for recognition of the 'third gender' on government documents. Nepal is the only country in South Asia to provide such rights.
"It took a lot of lobbying, discussions, organising, talking, pressuring" says Sunil Babu Pant, founder of Blue Diamond Society (BDS) an NGO that reaches out to the LGBTI community through education, healthcare and advocacy. "Not only are the third gender now recognised, but political parties Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and Communist Party of Nepal (United) have clauses recognising sexual minorities in their party manifestos," adds Pant, who recently made headlines for being the first person from the LGBTI community to represent CPN (U) in Nepal’s constituent assembly.
Nepal has been slowly making progress in terms of LGBTI rights. In February this year a local bank produced application forms that included the third option of "others" under the gender category. Similarly, BDS and the Supreme Court are looking into forming a seven-member committee to explore the legalisation of same-sex marriages.
Most LGBTI come from remote parts of Nepal. Throughout Nepal over 120,000 people from the LGBTI community are in touch with the BDS through its offices in 25 districts. The community predicts that there may be around 900,000 LGBTI in the country.
Introduction
The terms third gender and third sex describe individuals who are categorized (by their will or by social consensus) as neither male nor female, as well as the social category present in those societies who recognize three or more genders. The term "third" is usually understood to mean "other"; some anthropologists and sociologists have described fourth, fifth, and even some genders.
Although biology determines genetically whether a human being is male or female (on the basis of the XX or XY chromosomes), the state of being neither male nor female is sometimes considered in relation to the individual's gender role in society, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic. To different cultures or individuals, a third sex or gender may represent an intermediate state between men and women, a state of being both (such as "the spirit of a man in the body of a woman"), the state of being neither (neuter), the ability to cross or swap genders, another category altogether independent of male and female. This last definition is favored by those who argue for a strict interpretation of the "third gender" concept. In any case, all of these characterisations are defining sex in a different way of the usual meaning that biology gives to living beings.
The term has been used to describe Hijras of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan who have gained legal identity, Fa'afafine of Polynesia, and Sworn virgins of the Balkans, among others, and is also used by many of such groups and individuals to describe themselves.
Like the Hijra, the third gender is in many cultures made up of biological males who take on a feminine gender or sexual role. In cultures that have not undergone heterosexualization, they are usually seen as acceptable sexual partners for the "masculine" males as long as these latter always maintain the "active" role.
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