Review of Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India

This book makes important contributions to the study of gender variance, sexuality, and South Asian cultures. It was awarded the Ruth Benedict Prize, given by the Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists, and contains a forward written by the sexologist John Money. Nanda’s focus is the hijras, effeminate or androgynous males who do not fulfill… Read More Review of Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India

Two-spirit People Of Indigenous North Americans

Many Native American indigenous cultures have traditionally held intersex, androgynous people, feminine males, and masculine females in high respect. The most common term to define such persons today is to refer to them as Two Spirit people, but in the past feminine males were sometimes referred to as “berdache” by early French explorers in North… Read More Two-spirit People Of Indigenous North Americans

Transgender Identities in the Ancient Mediterranean

The interaction between religion and a society’s construction of gender has important ramifications for transgender communities within that culture. This relationship is especially compelling in the Ancient Mediterranean, in which a number of cultures with diverse spiritual and social environments thrived prior to the spread of Christianity. Within these cultures, religion provided a space for… Read More Transgender Identities in the Ancient Mediterranean