The Third Gender in Different Cultures

 Many cultures have a variation on gender categories for social functions and roles. Although they consider humans as only having two sexes, they believe some humans express their gender in three. In Canada, the Inuit culture recognizes three genders for religious and cultural reasons. A Canadian anthropologist, Bernard Saladin d"Anglure, theorizes that the Inuit third gender is the practice of raising a portion of biological females to dress and act like boys, while a portion of boys are raised to dress and act like girls. D'Anglure believes that the two reasons for gender-swapping are due to economical reasons and "cosmological" reasons. Economically, some children are raised as an opposite gender when there is a gender imbalance in a family. The family will want an equal number of males and females to perform duties associated with the gender. For example, a biological boy may be raised as a girl if the family needs more help with cooking and cleaning. Cosmologically, a child would be raised of the opposite sex if an ancestor wishes to live through the child. No matter what the biological sex of the child is, the child would be raised and given a name associated with the gender of the ancestor.

In Indian culture, the third gender occurs with Hijras, who are increasingly organizing themselves and lobbying for improved conditions. There is a religious and economic explanation for the third gender. Many Hijras come from impoverished backgrounds and adopting the Hijra gender can help people earn an income in ritual roles at weddings and births. Hijras are neither male or female; however, some may identify as more male or more female. Hijras are socially excluded and are regarded as annoyances, even at events, where they perform their ritual roles. Although they are making legal gains, their low social status will ensure that they stay poor because there are few opportunities for income. 


Comments

  1. Anastasia's BlogSeptember 17, 2020 at 6:48 PM

    Hi Audrey,
    I think you did a very good job explaining the role in which the third gender plays in varying cultures. Your examples of what the third gender means are very thorough and make it easy for a reader to understand the differences in varying cultures. I found the point that economically, some children are raised as an opposite gender when there is a gender imbalance in a family very interesting.

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    1. Audrey DubauskasNovember 8, 2020 at 1:58 PM

      Hello Anastasia,

      When reading that the Inuit sometimes raise children as the opposite gender, when there is a gender imbalance was very interesting. In our culture, we are typically raised as the sex we are for as and then people end up declaring their gender. It makes me wonder if Inuit people end up declaring their gender later on in life or if they keep the gender they were raised as.

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  2. Dr. NoraSeptember 23, 2020 at 1:38 PM

    Hi Audrey,

    You've stayed very close to Dea's own discussion of the economic and cultural reasons for third genders in Inuit and Indian culture. What about you? Part of the prompt you chose asked: "How much do economic and cultural factors interact in your own lived experience of gender?"

    Take care,
    Dr. Nora

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    Replies
    1. Audrey DubauskasNovember 8, 2020 at 1:51 PM

      Hello Dr. Nora!

      In my own lived experience of gender, there are many economic and cultural factors that interact to categorize people into specific genders. Women mostly stayed home because while the men were working and making money, the women had to take care of children and take care of tasks around the house. Today, women work and go to college just like men, but the stereotype that women are not as smart or skilled is still displayed today in wage gaps. In our culture, a stay at home parent is still typically a woman, which shows that gender roles are still in our economy and culture. I think the topic of a third gender is still relatively knew in our culture, and the economical factor is not really affected by it (that I know of). Unlike Inuit culture, there is no economical factor that causes kids to be raised other than their own gender. Culturally, people that don't define as female or male are sometimes treated differently, which is unfair because people should be free to be whoever they want to be.

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