An Epistemology of Collusion: Hijras, Kothis and the Historical (Dis)continuity of Gender/Sexual Identities in Eastern India

The visible emergence of gender/sexual identities in many postcolonial societies has raised complex questions regarding the relation between historical precursors of same‐sex desire and gender variance and emergent forms of gender/sexual identification. In this context, this article examines the rel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGender History Across Epistemologies pp. 305 - 329
Main Author Dutta, Aniruddha
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published United Kingdom Wiley 2013
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Subjects
gender variance
HISTORY
homoeroticism
nationalist discourses
non‐identitarian histories
PSYCHOLOGY
sexual minorities
SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL STUDIES
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Summary:The visible emergence of gender/sexual identities in many postcolonial societies has raised complex questions regarding the relation between historical precursors of same‐sex desire and gender variance and emergent forms of gender/sexual identification. In this context, this article examines the relation of hijra and kothi, two vernacular and putatively indigenous categories of gender/sexual difference in India, with postcolonial processes of identity formation. Through multi‐sited ethnographic fieldwork, the article proposes that collusions between subcultures and postcolonial institutions result in the translocal consolidation of gender/sexual identities like hijra and kothi. This continuity between subcultural and institutional processes of identity formation results in historical discontinuities where emergent standardised definitions increasingly elide local variations in community and identity.
ISBN:9781118508244
1118508246
DOI:10.1002/9781118508206.ch14