Main Article Content

Abstract

The terms third gender and third sex describe individuals who are categorized as neither man or woman as well as the social category present in those societies who recognize three or more genders. To different cultures or individuals, a third gender or six 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 women) the state of being neither (neuter), the ability to cross or swap genders, another category altogether independent of men an women. The term has been used to describe hizras 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 hizra, the third gender is in many cultures made up of biological males who takes on a feminine gender or sexual role.

Article Details