The hijras of India and kathoeys of Thailand. The waria of Indonesia and muxe of southern Mexico. The fa’afafine of Polynesia and Two Spirit people of Native American cultures. Scholars point to these groups as examples of gender-nonconforming people who are respected, even revered in their societies—and compare them to transgender and gender-nonconforming people in the mainstream United States, who face a complex mix of discrimination and support. News articles tout “7 Countries Giving Transgender People Fundamental Rights the US Still Won’t,” arguing that trans people in places such as India, Nepal, and Pakistan have respect not accorded to trans people in the United States. Are hijras and kathoeys better off than gender-nonconforming people in the United States? Did Native American tribes universally embrace Two Spirit people?
The answer to these questions is complicated. There are gender-nonconforming people all over the world, and each culture has a unique way of understanding the cultural role they play. Focusing on a few of these countries may help explain the diversity of experiences of gender-nonconforming people.
Hijras have existed for centuries in the region now known as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. References to a third sex—one other than male or female—exist in the texts of all three of India’s ancient religions—Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The hijra population today may number five to six million and is generally made up of people assigned male at birth who express traits that are traditionally seen as feminine. Some identify as transgender women or simply as women, while others see the hijra role as a unique category outside the binary gender system. Hijras often live in groups together, with more senior hijras, known as gurus, running households and holding sway over geographic areas.
During the British colonization, a number of laws were passed to criminalize hijras. There is controversy over the status of hijras prior to colonialism, and it is likely that some were treated relatively well and others poorly. In 2014, the Indian Supreme Court ruled in favor of recognizing a third sex on all official documents. Does the establishment of a separate category for hijras demonstrate a more accepting attitude toward gender-nonconforming people in India than in countries such as the United States? Despite recent legal changes, the social status of hijras remains ambiguous. Though hijras are accepted as a part of Indian society, they are often disowned by their families, discriminated against in employment, and targeted for violence and abuse. Many hijras earn money doing sex work, and HIV has taken a large toll on hijra communities. In addition, the international news coverage citing legal improvements for hijras is misleading; until the 1990s, hijras could not vote at all, and in many Indian states, they continue to be denied the right to vote or run for public office unless they declare themselves either male or female. Though hijras are a longstanding part of Indian culture and have thriving communities, their lives are not simple or easy.
Thailand is often thought of by travelers as a place of relative acceptance for gender-nonconforming people. The term for people in Thailand with identities closest to transgender women in the United States is “kathoey,” though this term is also used for intersex people and effeminate gay men. Kathoeys can, in some instances, be very successful. Well-known kathoeys include Nong Tum, whose life story was told in the film Beautiful Boxer, as well as the all-kathoey pop band Venus Flytrap. Life is not always easy for kathoeys, and they are sometimes the targets of sexual violence. Like hijras, many kathoeys are sex workers—some because they choose to be, and others because they have limited options.
In addition to kathoeys, Thailand has toms, who are assigned female at birth and present masculinely. Toms may wear masculine clothing and cut their hair short, and some bind their chests. Toms often date dees (the name “dee” comes from Thais pronouncing the end of the word “lady,” i.e., “lay-dee”), who are generally more feminine. Some toms identify as lesbians and others as transgender men.
In the Balkans (primarily northern Albania) gender-nonconforming people have played a significant role throughout the region’s history. “Sworn virgins” are assigned female at birth and raised as girls but take over the male role as head of household when no man is available. This lack of leadership occurs frequently because blood feuds between families are so common that many men within a single family may be killed. Sworn virgins agree to a vow of chastity but essentially take on all the privileges and responsibilities of men: owning property, socializing with other men, and carrying weapons. This tradition extends back at least five centuries and is believed to stem from the Kanun, a set of traditional Albanian laws that hold that women are worth half as much as men but female virgins are equal to men.
Experts believe that there are fewer than a hundred sworn virgins in the Balkans today, many of them elderly. One possible reason for this is that as Albanian women have gained social status, there is now less of a need for those assigned female to fill male roles. Sworn virgins report a diverse array of experiences and feelings, ranging from extreme satisfaction to wishes that they had not taken on their positions. Some understand themselves as men, while others feel they are not quite the same as men but are not women either. Many describe enjoying the social freedoms and privileges they have been given, while others mourn the loss of women’s spaces and physical intimacy.
“Two Spirit” is an umbrella term adopted in 1990 by activists at the Third International Native Gay and Lesbian Gathering in Winnipeg, Canada, to describe gender-nonconforming people in Native American/First Nations communities. It replaced “berdache,” a derogatory term used by French clergy and explorers who encountered Native tribes.
There is documentation of gender-nonconforming people in hundreds of Native American, also known as First Nations, societies. Words used to describe these groups include “Nadleeh” (Navajo), “Agokwa” (Chippewa), “Bote” (Crow), and “Winkte” (Dakota), among many others. Not all Native American societies were universally accepting of gender nonconformity, and those that were often had prescribed expectations. In many tribes, gender-nonconforming people had specialized work activities or filled roles as healers or shamans. Many had sexual relationships with members of their assigned sex. Some wore clothing typical of another sex, while others did not. Historians argue that those we call Two Spirit today likely represent the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum and not just trans identities.
It should be noted that in modern days, many people not of First Nations heritage have adopted this label to describe their identity as containing both masculine and feminine elements, a use of language increasingly seen as inappropriate by Native Americans. A Native American blogger from the White Noise Collective writes that the term exists specifically within a First Nations context of oppression and cultural understandings of identity, and is not applicable to those outside this community: “If you are not a member of a First Nations tribe, then it is not liberatory to use the term ‘Two Spirit.’ If you did not descend from their ancestors and their struggles, and if you do not understand the history of their tribes or their words, then they are not yours to use and your use of the terms is theft, or what is called cultural appropriation.”
Cultures across the world and through time have had complicated, individual understandings and ways of simultaneously supporting and failing to integrate gender nonconformity. At times, we form unrealistic views of the treatment of gender-nonconforming people in other cultures. Why is it so appealing to idealize them?
Given the history of Westerners viewing native people of all continents as more primitive than Europeans, there is likely racial and ethnic prejudice at play. The “noble savage,” which originated as a literary archetype in French novels, describes a person who has not yet been exposed to civilization and therefore remains pure or good. This is often attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, although he expressed this idea and did not use the actual phrase. Viewing people in this light simultaneously applauds but also demeans their cultures, painting them as a return to a more “simple” society, fixed in time, and writing off their complex and dynamic histories. This view promotes the idea that respect and support for gender-nonconforming people is not possible in a complicated, modern society.
It is unclear the extent to which racialized views play into idealization of certain cultures and their treatment of gender-nonconforming people. There is much to be learned from studying the role of gender-nonconforming people in cultures outside of our own, but in order to truly gain from them we must dig below the surface to discover the nuances and contradictions that make them real.