Hijra and Sadhin
Gender variant people are defined in many ways throughout different cultures. In the Native American culture, the traditional male and female two-spirit people were known, but on occasion there was a third intersex person. The third intersex person is mixed of male and female qualities that are the same to the two-spirit people. The intersex are neither male nor female, they are an alternative gender. In Indian culture, there is a nonbinary system. There is a third gender called Hijra. The Hijras are neither man nor woman, but they are also man and woman. In Brazilian culture, men and women are separate, but the men are the superior. It is decided based not on genitals, but on the position one takes during sexual intercourse. Meaning the man is the active or penetrator, while the woman is the receiver or penetrated. In Polynesian culture, there is a gender variant known as Mahu. A Mahu is when certain feminine characteristics and aspects are taken on by a man. This is a complex gender category that is seen to have a combination of masculine and feminine qualities. In Thailand and Philippine culture, there is a now negative term used for what is used to describe their gender diversity. The term kathoey is used to describe a male that is portraying feminine behaviors and characteristics. Thai culture does not have a belief that sex correlates with the true identity of a person. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the traditional Thai culture began to change. Western biomedical concepts, such as homosexuality and gay identities started to become a part of Thai culture. The sexual relationship between a kathoey and a man are not as looked down upon as those in a same- gender relationship. The word “gay” had only entered Thailand’s culture for the purpose of referring to the cross-dressing or the “feminine” homosexual men. In today’s Thai culture, gays are seen to be more masculine, they have large biceps and muscles, with body and facial hair, they proudly identify as men. In the Philippines, the gender diversity mostly centers around the male transgender roles. The male transgender roles are most often called bakla, bantut, or bayot. These roles are often centered around feminine traits in their appearances and mannerisms, as well as their same-sex relations. The same-sex relations of the bakla is just one factor of their social life, but it is an important one in their subjective identity.
Between these few groups and learning about their cultures in a more in-depth way, it was interesting to see how some genders are seen as more feminine, but only due to the aspects of the person, meaning their mannerisms and appearances. While in one culture gender depends on sexual position. Having the masculine on top and the feminine on the bottom.