Beyond the Binary: Chapters 5-8, Economic and Cultural Factors That Affect the Third Gender

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Gender can be perceived in diverse ways depending on the social and cultural norms of a community. Some cultures believe that human beings have two sexes, but people can express their gender identities in more than two ways. The Inuit culture in Northern Canada and hijras in South Asian culture both recognize that there is a third gender. There are spiritual, religious, and economic reasons for this acknowledgement of gender beyond the gender binary. 

Economic and cultural reasons for the third gender interact clearly in Inuit culture as the third gender is marked by transvestism, which is practiced for either spiritual or pragmatic reasons. Inuit people raise some biologically female children to dress in a style that is associated with boys and act in a traditionally masculine way. They may also raise biological males to dress and behave like girls. The pragmatic reason for cross-dressing and switching gender behaviors is that families with children that are all girls or all boys may raise a child as the opposite gender so that the child can execute the responsibilities associated with the other gender. For example, in a family with all boys, a son may be brought up as a daughter so that the child can aid the mother with cooking and making clothes, the gendered tasks that are associated with girls. This seemed practical to me, as many Indigenous cultures are self-sufficient and traditional gender roles are strictly adhered to with reference to people's duties (ex. men hunt while women care for the family). Thus, ensuring that families can take care of themselves is imperative for their survival as a community. The spiritual reason for gender-swapping involves the ancestors of the Inuit people. If an ancestor who has passed away appears in the dream of someone who is about to be a parent, this is analyzed as a signal that an ancestor wants to live through their future child. As a result, the parents give their child their ancestor's name and disregard biological sex by raising the child according to their ancestor's gender. I found this to be less practical but I know that spirituality and connection to one's ancestors is an important tradition for Indigenous populations, so I can understand how this cultural factor impacts the evolution of the third gender.

Legends and stories in Inuit culture also influence the concept of the third gender. This is exemplified in the myth of the strange man who accepts female gender roles, dresses in a feminine manner, and gives birth with the help of supernatural intervention. There are economic and spiritual aspects to this story that affect the Inuit concept of gender. The economic aspect can be seen as the strange man is in a family with many brothers, so by taking up sewing instead of hunting he fills a gender role that was missing in his family due to a lack of daughters. The deeper spiritual aspect is connected to the strange man's claim that he simply cannot hunt because he is a woman who was made that way. The way the strange man identifies himself as a woman indicates that gender-swapping is not strictly for economic purposes, but it is also a part of who he is due to his connection to an ancestor that lives again through him. Another myth follows the story of Itijjuaq who can't sew, cook, or have children. Itijjuaq's ancestors give her powers that allow her to heal people, which gives her a higher social status that resembles the authority that a man would have in this community. These stories emphasize the impact that ancestors, supernatural powers, shamanism, and spirituality have on gender identity. I found it interesting that the third gender not only dismantles gender binary restrictions, but it also serves as a bridge between the living and the dead through the interactions that third gender individuals have with their ancestors.

Religious and economic reasons for the third gender also interact in South Asian culture. The hijras are third gender people from the Indian subcontinent who make up a religious community of people who worship the goddess Bahuchara Mata. They are neither male or female, and their religious role can be seen through the ritual duties they perform at weddings or births. This religious role is connected to the economic aspect of the third gender, as it is common for hijras to come from impoverished backgrounds. Accepting the hijra gender allows people to enter a supportive community where they can make money through these ritual roles. Sexual orientation and gender role identity also shape hijra identity and the likelihood that a person joins the hijra community. Some people may become hijras to avoid discrimination from their original communities for being too feminine or they may actually want to occupy traditionally female gender roles. With reference to sexual orientation, some men may become hijras because they want to have both romantic and sexual relationships with other men. Society does not view hijras in a positive manner, as they are socially ostracized, abused, experience high rates of violence, and have low social statuses. The low social status perpetuates a cycle of poverty, and they do not have many opportunities to make money other than the rituals they perform. 

I found it interesting that while Inuit third gender individuals are valued as a bridge between the spirit and physical worlds, hijras are considered to be inferior and taboo. Personally, from what I have learned about hijras during a discussion club at the Hindu camp I attended as a child, I think that colonization may be a contributing factor towards how society feels about third gender individuals. When the British colonized India, they brought their gender binary views with them and invalidated many of the groups that didn't fit into these categories. Whether these British views included colorist attitudes of favoring lighter-skinned Indians or strict beliefs about how homosexuality is wrong, it is difficult to deny that colonialism impacted India's cultural and societal norms (although some of those discriminatory beliefs may have already existed in Indian communities, I think colonialism amplified those views). The religious and spiritual aspects of hijras were condemned, as colonial rulers found this tradition to be unacceptable. Colonizers saw hijras as a threat to their authority as they challenged the Western and European beliefs that the British thought were superior. The hijras' openness towards sexuality and feminine gender expression was shocking to the British, and as a result the colonizers formed a narrative where the hijras were viewed as inferior or unnatural. 

I think colonization and more specifically Residential Schools also impacted the views surrounding third gender individuals in Indigenous communities. I was raised in a very small town in Upstate NY right next to the Akwesasne Mohawk Native American reservation, and in school I grew up hearing stories about the "two-spirit" individuals who fulfilled a third gender role. I remember learning about how two-spirit people were honored and highly respected, as these special individuals could take on more gender roles or responsibilities than males or females alone. However, this all changed when the horrific Residential Schools were created and Indigenous people were forced to forget about their heritage and let go of valuable cultural traditions in order to "civilize" them and assimilate into Canadian culture. This system took Indigenous children away from their families, physically and psychologically abused them, and forced them to speak English or French rather than their native languages. The two-spirit tradition was mocked and outlawed in these schools, and many adults I have spoken to who grew up in this environment are still unlearning the homophobia and transphobia instilled in them. Recently, the reservation near me has been making efforts to educate people on two-spirit individuals and promote their value as people who have the power to transcend the limits of gender binarism. In my opinion, colonialism was the force that caused people to temporarily question two-spirit or third gender individuals, as Eurocentric ideals were used as the acceptable standards of behavior. Even with the Inuit people, many experts dismiss that the Inuit community recognizes more than two genders because they don't understand the extent to which these distinctions impact Inuit culture, so they don't focus on gender as much.

In my own experience, I think cultural factors impact my experience of gender more than economic factors. I think that economic factors such as gender norms that favor men over women in professional settings or issues such as the wage gap will influence my perception of gender more in the future when I get a stable job. In Indian culture, I've noticed that my role as a "daughter" has impacted how relatives treat me. I have never been more aware of my gender identity than when my more traditional family members from India visit my family in America. Indian uncles who visit my house often expect my sister and I to get up to serve them water or get them more snacks, even if they are perfectly capable and healthy enough to get it on their own (*rolls eyes*). My dad being the considerate husband that he is will often try to help my mom set the table for dinner or heat up food, but my uncles will call him back into the living room because they claim that my mom has it under control. My male cousins will often be playing video games downstairs while my female cousins and I help the other aunties clean up. When shopping with my mother, who holds onto her Indian roots strongly, she will discourage me from buying black/dark clothing because she doesn't "want me to look manly" as girls should wear clothing that isn't too revealing or masculine. The culture of a daughter-in-law giving up her sense of self in order to become part of her husband's family is something that has always bothered me, as her in-laws decided whether her ambitions or professional goals are worth pursuing and her individual needs no longer matter. All of these different personal examples I've experienced reflect the cultural ideologies that impact my sense of womanhood, and it perpetuates the outdated idea that women should be submissive, hyper-feminine, modest, and that their purpose is to serve men. While I know that many of my family members are not actively trying to reinforce gender roles, I am aware that their learned behavior has greatly shaped my perception of what it means to be a woman. Expectations for Indian women are so deeply ingrained in my culture that it is hard not to acknowledge the distinct standards that should be followed depending on one's gender identity.