Andrew Mortensen
BI-218X
HR: google for definitions, notes and videos
Artifact 1: There’s such thing as Third Sex?
Defined as “anatomical and physiological characteristics that differ human males and females”, sex is assigned at birth, based off of external and internal genitalia. The sex of a human is based off of the X chromosome and whether it is combined with a Y chromosome or not. Essentially a male will develop from XY and a female will develop from XX. There are situations in which a baby can be born with XXY or XYY which causes developmental problems but the X and Y still serve as the basis. Additionally, the presence of certain hormones and of course reproductive organs gives rise to a female or male. On the other hand, gender can be defined by “the role and social identification of an individual as male or female independent of biological characteristics. These two binary genders have been exposed to many different stereotypes and biases. For example, females have always been expected to clean, take care of the baby, stay at home and are even categorized by things such as certain colors (pink), types of clothing, and even their physical appearance. It is stereotypical to view men as the leader of the household, or the one who pays the bills, is categorized by their own colors and outfits. Despite this, progress has been made to view females and males are equal. Simple changes such as allowing women to serve in certain military branches and the rise of men becoming nurses are enough to make major changes in society’s perception of each gender.
Recently, the idea of “third gender” has been introduced as people are straying from the simple male and female gender. Third gender can be defined as individuals who see themselves as neither male nor female. One of these groups is called the “Hijras of India”. This group of people identifies as a third gender and is composed of men who make the switch to become female. These individuals differ in their decision whether to fully remove their male parts or not, however still do not identify as either binary gender. India grants the Hijras basic civil rights, however do not have the right to vote since they do not identify as either male or female. Additionally, Hijras are not widely accepted in India because of their stray from the norm. Many of these individuals refer to prostitution since it is harder for them to find a job, but recently they are becoming more and more accepted into culture, allowing them more opportunities to live a normal life.
On the other hand, there is another third gender group of people called “Kathoey”, or ladyboys from Thailand. Kathoey are boys who have become girls and unlike the Hijras, they are more widely accepted due to the belief that they make this change based off of the sins they made during their past life. Although they are more widely accepted, they are still not legally allowed to change their sex.
As different societies and cultures grow, the welcoming of new genders, as well as the mixing of binary genders has been more prominent. There have even been a few states in America where a person is able to choose a third gender on a birth certificate. Equality has also been growing as women are being targeted for the Marine Corps and men are being targeted for nursing school, as mentioned earlier. Regardless of gender, people have reasons for who they want to identify as and I believe that the world is slowly, but surely accepting and agreeing with their decisions.