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Abstract

Any discussion on the Third Gender must begin with the distinction between the much ignored or may be deliberately under-played difference between the concepts of „gender identity‟ and „sexual orientation‟.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. 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.

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