The concepts of third-, fourth-, non-, and other-genders have existed in many cultures throughout history. Even though their meanings and applications varied from one context to another, all of them have been marginalized and modified through the modern-era with the rise of modern sciences reifying the binary system of gender located within sexual dimorphism, and the modern state codifying marriage. The panel seeks to explore the development of the third-gender category across different contexts and examines how local formulations of gender intersect with, transform, and assimilate third-ness as an intelligible form of gender. The papers presented will include but are not limited to the study of sworn virgins in the Slavic Speaking Western Balkans, hijras in semi-urban and rural Rajasthan on one hand, and the harbingers of the Kinnar Akhara on the other in India, and others.
How do non-binary individuals derive their subjectivities from their third-gender identities; how do these tactics differ across urban/rural contexts, and how do they simultaneously locate themselves and their gendered subjectivities within the local vernacular grammar of socio-economic relations? What are the historical processes through which gender gets embedded within their respective socio-economic circumstances? What is the nexus between knowledge production, the state, and social actors in these processes, and what bearings does it have on the formation of individual subjectivities?
The panel examines these cases by combing historical and contemporary approaches grounded in historical and contemporary ethnographic research. Through them, we hope to entangle similarities and differences with contemporary LGBTIQ+ politics and activism and see ways in which colonialism and neo-colonialism have influenced the understanding and use of gender diversity. We invite contributors with ethnographically grounded papers focusing on a single regional/national/local context globally to join the discussion.
