மறுக்கப்பட்ட நீதி

திருநங்கை சொப்னா

மதுரையை   சேர்ந்த திருநங்கை சொப்னா பத்தாம் வகுப்பில் 94%, 12-ம் வகுப்பில் 92% சதவிகிதம் மதிப்பெண்கள் பெற்றவர் பாலின ரீதியான ஒடுக்குமுறை, சமுகத்தின் கிண்டல், ஏளனம் என்று பல கஷ்டங்கள்,  பிறப்பால் இசுலாமிய மதம் இதனால் மத ரீதியான அடக்கு முறை என்று எல்லா கஷ்டங்களை மீறி  பி. எ தமிழ் மற்றும் பி. சி. எ   படித்துள்ள இவர், சமீபத்தில் மத்திய அரசுப் பணியாளர் தேர்வாணையம் நடத்திய போட்டித் தேர்வில் பங்கேற்பதற்காக விண்ணப்பித்தார். அதில், பாலினம் என்ற இடத்தில் ஆண், பெண் என்று மட்டுமே இருந்ததால், இவரால் அதனை பூர்த்தி செய்ய இயலவில்லை. பெண் என்று தன்னை குறிப்பிட்டால்  தன்னையும் பிற பெண்கள்  போல கருதி சிறப்பு அங்கிகாரம்  இல்லாமல் போய்விடும் என்று தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டப்படி மத்திய அரசுப் பணியாளர் தேர்வாணையதிற்கு தன்னுடைய கேள்வியை அனுப்பினார்.  

*  விண்ணப்பத்தில் ஆண், பெண் என்ற இரண்டு பாலினங்களை தவிர்த்து திருனர் (Transgender)  மற்றும் இதர பாலினங்களுக்கு ஏன்  இடம் இல்லை  ?

*   மத்திய அரசுப் பணியாளர் தேர்வாணையத்தில் திருனர் மற்றும் மூன்றாம் பாலினத்திற்கு முக்கியத்துவம் உண்டா ?

* மூன்றாம்  பாலினத்திற்கு இட ஒதுக்கீடு  உண்டா ?

* வயது மற்றும் ஜாதி  ரீதியான சலுகைகள் மூன்றாம் பாலினதிர்கும் செல்லுபடியாகுமா ?

 ஏன்  பிற பாலினங்களுக்கு (others) பிறர் என்று இடம் இல்லை ? என்று இவர் கேட்ட கேள்விகளுக்கு UPSC அளித்த பதில் " இந்த கேள்விகளை நீங்கள் அரசாங்கத்திடம் கேட்க்க வேண்டும், நாங்கள் இதற்கு பொறுப்பில்லை என்று பாலினத்தை  காரணம் காட்டி, அவரது விண்ணப்பத்தை நிராகரித்தது தேர்வாணையம்.

இதுகுறித்து மதுரை கலெக்டர் அலுவலகத்தில் நான்கைந்து முறை மனு கொடுத்துவிட்டார் சொப்னா. ஆனால் 'நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கும் அதிகாரம் தங்களுக்கு இல்லை' என்று கை விரித்தனர் அதிகாரிகள். இதனால் கடந்த மே மாதம் மதுரை கலெக்டர் அலுவலகம் முன்பு தர்ணா போராட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டார் கண்ணீருடன் அவர் கோஷமிட்டதால் பரபரப்பு ஏற்பட்டது. உடனே போலீசார் அவரை சமாதானம் செய்து கலெக்டரை சந்திக்க ஏற்பாடு செய்தனர். அப்போது கலெக்டர், "இது அரசின் கொள்கை முடிவு என்பதால், மதுரை கலெக்டர் மட்டும் நினைத்தால் போதாது. அரசின் கொள்கை மாற வேண்டும். அது உங்கள் கையில் தான் இருக்கிறது" என்றார்.

இந்த நிலையில் மற்ற திருநங்கைகள் கேட்டுக் கொண்டும் அவர் போராட்டத்தைக் கைவிடவில்லை. "நாம் போராடினால் தான் அரசின் கொள்கை மாறும். இல்லை என்றால் என்ன படிப்பு படித்தாலும் நாம் அரசு வேலைக்குச் செல்ல முடியாது. கடைகடையாக கையேந்தியும், தப்பான தொழில் செய்தும் தான் பிழைக்க முடியும்" என்று சத்தம் போட்டார். உடனே போலீசார் அவரைப் பிடித்து டெம்போ வேனில் ஏற்றி காவல்நிலையத்துக்குக் கொண்டு சென்றனர். கண்ணீருடன் தன்னுடைய பாடப்புத்தகங்களையும் சுமந்தபடி சென்றார்.

திருநங்கை ரேவதி இது குறித்து திருநங்கை ரேவதி கூறியது "நாங்கள் ஏன் ரேஷன் அரிசி மட்டுமே சாப்பிட வேண்டும், நாங்கள் ஏன் அரசாங்கம் அளிக்கும் சின்னச் சலுகைகளை மட்டுமே எதிர்பார்த்து 

வாழ வேண்டும் என்ற கேள்வி எழுகிறது. நாங்களும் பொது நிர்வாகிகளாக , வழக்கறிஞர் களாக, மருத்துவர்களாக, தொழிலதிபர்களாக உருவாக வேண்டும். ஆண்களுக்கு என்ன உரிமைகள் இருக்கின்றனவோ, அத்தனையும் பெண்களுக்கு வேண்டும் அதேபோலத்தான், ஆண்களுக்கும் பெண்களுக்கும் என்னென்ன உரிமைகள் இருக்கின்றனவோ, அத்தனை உரிமைகளும் திருனருக்கும்  வேண்டும். ஒரே வரியில் சொல்வதானால், சமூக மதிப்பீடுகள் மாறவேண்டும்!.

திருனரின் நலன் குறித்து  உச்ச  நிதிமன்றத்தின் தேசிய சட்ட சேவைகள் அதிகார மையம்  (NALSA)  அக்டோபர் 2 2012  எல்லா மாநில அரசுக்கும் திருனருக்கான பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் அவர்களுக்கான அடிப்படை உரிமம், ரேஷன் கார்டு மற்றும் கல்வி நிறுவனங்களில்  அனுமதி, ஓட்டுநர், வாக்காளர் அடையாள அட்டை, பாஸ்போர்ட் போன்ற பல்வேறு வாய்ப்புகள் மற்றும் வசதிகளை  முறையாக வழங்க வேண்டும் என்ற  அறிவிப்பை வெளியிட்டது அனால் எந்த மாநில ஆரசும் இதற்கு தகுந்த பதில் அளிக்கவில்லை. 

இந்த அறிவிப்பு குறித்து மாவட்ட சட்ட சேவைகள் அதிகார  மையதிக்கும் எந்த விழிப்புணர்வும் இல்லை. அப்படி ஒரு அறிவிப்பு வெளியனத என்று மதுரை சட்ட சேவைகள் அதிகார மையத்தில் கேள்வி கேற்கின்றனர்.

ஸ்வப்னாவின் வாக்காளர் அடையாள அட்டை 

திருநங்கை ஸ்வப்னாவின் வாக்காளர் அடையாள அட்டையில் பாலினத்தில் ஆண் என்று  தமிழிலும் /female என்று ஆங்கிலத்திலும் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளனர்    இதை அரசு அதிகாரிகளின் கவனகுறைவு என்பதா? இல்லை பகுத்தறிவு இல்லாத மனிதர்கள் அவர்களை கேலி செய்வது போல செய்தாரகளா? பிறர் என்று குறிக்க வேண்டும் என்று விண்ணபத்தை பூர்த்தி செய்தும் அவருக்கு இந்த நிலை. வேலைவாய்ப்பு அலுவலகத்தில் திருநங்கைகள் தனது படிப்பை பதிவு செய்ய இயலவில்லை. மேலும் ஆண் மற்றும் பெண் என்ற பாலினத்திலும் அவர்களை பதிவு செய்ய இயலாது என்று அதிகாரிகள் கூறுகிறார்கள். 

மேலும் திருநங்கைகள் தனது படிப்பை பதிவு செய்யதாலும் வேலைவாய்ப்பில் அவர்களுக்கு இடஓதுக்கீடு இல்லை என்றும் அதிகாரிகள் கூறுகிறார்கள். 

இந்த உலகத்தில் வாழும் சக மனிதரை போலதான் நாங்களும் ஆனால் மற்ற பிரிவினர்க்கு வேலைவாய்ப்பில் கொடுக்கப்படும் முன்னுரிமை கூட திருநங்கைகளுக்கு கிடையாது.என்றும் திருனர் என்றால்  திருநங்கையை மட்டும் குறிகின்றனர் திருநம்பியை பற்றி விளிபுனர்வே இல்லை. திருநங்கைகள் தங்களை பெண் என்றே குறிப்பிட விரும்புவர் பெரும்பாலான திருநங்கைகளுக்கு அவர்களை பிறர் என்ற பட்டியலில் மூன்றாம் பாலினம் என்று குறிப்பிட  விரும்பவில்லை என்றும் திருநங்கை பெண் என்று குறிப்பிடலாம் என்றும் கூறுகின்றனர்.

தனி மனிதனின் பாலின சுதந்திரத்தில் தலையிட யாரிற்கும்  உரிமை இல்லை. திறமையும் தகுதியும் வைத்து நிர்ணயிக்கபட வேண்டிய பல விஷயங்களை இன்றும் நமது நாடு பாலினம் மற்றும் ஜாதி, என்ற பல்வேறு காரணங்களைஅடிப்படையாக வைத்து பிரிக்கிறது. 

ஒருவர்  தாம் விரும்பி ஏற்று தேர்வு செய்த பாலினத்தினை  ஏற்றுகொள்ள நம்மில்எத்தனை பேருக்கு பக்குவம் இருக்கிறது? பெரும்பாலும் இல்லை என்பது தான் வேதனைக்குரியவிஷயமாகும். ஸ்வப்னாவின் பாலினத்தை அவர் அடையாலபடுதிகொள்ள முழு உரிமை வேண்டும். எந்த அரசாங்கதிற்கும், ஒருவரின் சொந்த பாலினத்தில் தலையிடும் உரிமை இல்லை. பாலினம் என்பது ஒருவரின் உளரீதியான, உணர்வு ரீதியான விஷயம். அதை, வெளிப்படுத்தி, அனைவரும் அறியும் பொருட்டு அதனை கேள்வி கேட்டு ஒருவரை சர்ச்சையாக்குவது பாலியல் மற்றும் பாலின விவகாரங்களில் நமக்குரிய முதிர்சியின்மையினை மட்டுமே காட்டுகின்றது.  இவர்களுக்கும் இடஒதுக்கீடு வழங்க வேண்டும் . இவர்கள் சலுகைகள் கேட்கவில்லை தங்கள் வாழ்வுரிமைக்காக போராடுகிறார்கள், இவர்களுக்கு  சலுகை கொடுக்காவிட்டால் கூட பரவாயில்லை. அவர்களின் முன்னேற்றத்துக்கு தடை போடாத வகையிலாவது அரசின் நடவடிக்கை இருக்க வேண்டும். சமிபத்தில் ஆஸ்திரேலியா உலகில் முதல் முறையாக ஆண், பெண் மற்றும் தங்களை பாலின இருமைக்குள் சேர்க்க விரும்பாத பால்புதுமையரை (Genderqueer) சட்டப்படி அங்கீகரித்துள்ளது, இருபத்தைந்திற்கும் மேற்பட்ட பாலினங்கள் இருப்பது பற்றி  நம் நாட்டில் எந்த விழிப்புணர்வும் இல்லை.

  “பாலினம் மற்றும் பாலின ஈர்ப்பு” என்பது ஒருவரது தனிப்பட்ட உரிமை.... அந்த உரிமையில் தலையிடுவது, ஒரு தனிநபர் சுதந்திரத்தில் தலையிடுவதை போன்றது.... “தான் எப்படி வாழ வேண்டும்?, யாராக வாழ வேண்டும்?” என்பதை தீர்மானிக்க ஒரு தனி மனிதனுக்கு உரிமை உண்டு  அத்தகைய உரிமைகளை பறிக்கும் நிலையை இந்தியாவில் நாம் தொடர்ந்து உருவாக்கி வருகிறோம்.... மேற்குலக நாடுகளில் பாலினம் மற்றும் பாலின ஈர்ப்பு தொடர்பாக ஆய்வுகளும், அறிவுகளும் இருபத்தைந்து வருடங்களுக்கு முன்பே வந்துவிட்டது... ஆனால், நம் நாட்டில் இன்றும் தெளிவான இத்தகைய கருத்துகள் நம்மை அடையவில்லை....

நம் நாட்டில் “அரிச்சுவடி” அளவுக்கு கூட தெரியவில்லை.... பாலினம் தொடர்பான பல சர்ச்சைகளும், குழப்பங்களும் நித்தமும் உருவாகும் நம் நாட்டில், ஒரு உளவியல் படித்த மருத்துவருக்கு கூட இத்தகைய “பால் புதுமையினர்” பற்றிய அறிவு கிடைக்கவில்லை என்பதுதான் உண்மை....

திருநம்பி  ராஜா

பாலினத்தை எப்படி வரையறை செய்வது? எந்த வகையான பாலினத்திற்கு எவ்வகையான கோட்பாடுகள் உண்டு? என்ற எவ்வித தெளிவும் இன்னும் நம் நாட்டில் உருவாகவில்லை..... “ஆண், பெண்” என்ற வகையோடு பல நாடுகளும் “மற்றவர்கள்” என்ற ஒரு பிரிவையும் தங்கள் நாடுகளின் அதிகாரப்பூர்வ விஷயமாக அங்கீகரித்து உள்ளார்கள்.நம்மை பொருத்தவரை “மற்றவர்கள்” என்று குறிப்பிடப்படுவது “திருநங்கை” மட்டும்தான் என்று நினைப்போம்.... ஆணாக இருந்து பெண்ணாக மாறிய திருநங்கை பற்றிய ஓரளவு தெளிவான அறிவை பெற்றிருக்கும் நாம், பெண்ணாக இருந்து ஆணாக மாறிய “திருநம்பி”களை பற்றி நாம் பெறவில்லை.... பெண் உரிமைகள் பெரிதாக பேசப்படாத நம் நாட்டில், பெண்ணாக இருந்து ஆணாக மாறிய “திருநம்பி” பற்றிய விழிப்புணர்வு கிடைக்காததில் வியப்பொன்றும் இல்லை.... 

LABELLING THEORY - What you label me ?

Social constructionists argue that labels must be rejected (or deconstructed) because they are allegedly the tools of external social control. Some modern gay apologists fondly believe that there was once a golden age when no one was labelled and everyone enjoyed fluid sexuality. Thus Cowan (1988) says that ‘Throughout much of human history it seems that people – both gay and straight – could live comfortably without a name for the "love that dare not speak its name". In biblical times it was enough for David to simply say that his love for Jonathan "was wonderful, passing the love of women".’ 

What an extraordinary example to choose: it means precisely the opposite of what Cowan says! The whole point about this famous biblical passage is that the lack of a name for David’s love made it difficult to speak about it. It manifestly does not demonstrate a ‘simple’, ‘comfortable’ acceptance of something common – on the contrary, it vividly illustrates the struggle to describe something ‘wonderful’ and very special and beyond the common conceptions available at the time. Contrary to this love being a commonplace occurrence, David loved Jonathan ‘as he loved his own soul’ – a phrase having ‘no parallel anywhere else in the Jewish Scriptures’ (Boswell 1994). 

In biblical times it became the archetype for true, lasting love, pointedly set against the transitoriness of heterosexual passion.

The relationship between language and experience has been one of the central problems of philosophy for centuries. In more recent times the issue has been the complex relationship between language and identity. The social constructionist school maintains the omnipotence of words: I label you, therefore you are. The school is rooted in structuralism, a linguistic/semantic approach to literature, in which text rather than context is the final arbiter of meaning. The sociological development of the theory maintains that the homosexual did not exist as a personality type or identity until he (or she) was labelled, that the labelling occurred in the work of the sexologists in the late nineteenth century, and that therefore homosexuals did not exist until they were created, i.e. constructed, in the late nineteenth century. 

The traditionalist or essentialist rejects the philosophical presumption that meaning precedes experience, and adopts the common-sense view that homosexual identity precedes labelling. Despite the sophistication with which social constructionists deal with epistemes and semiotext(e)s, they are profoundly ignorant of historical linguistics.

In the search for specific words or labels for homosexuality we should not ignore the fact that most people use euphemisms or phrases made up of ordinary words to describe what they do. Even today most people do not use a specific word to describe themselves when engaged in intercrural intercourse, although slang words are available. When General Kuno Count von Moltke explained in court his sexual relations with Philipp Prince zu Eulenburg-Hertefeld, in the first decade of the twentieth century, all he could say was this: ‘Fooling around. I don’t know of no real name for it. 

When we went rowing we just did it in the boat.’ ‘Fooling around’ was perhaps the most frequently used euphemism during the 1920s through 1940s, and is probably still the term used by adolescents engaging in their first ‘experiments’. In the early 1930s British gay men referred to each other as ‘so’ and ‘musical’, terms gradually supplanted by ‘queer’, which may have been used earlier by the Irish and was popularized in theatrical circles (Skinner 1978). To say that such words show lack of scientific refinement is quite true, but everyone knows exactly what they mean – even when they use such vague terms as ‘it’ and ‘that way’.

The absence of language does not indicate the absence of conceptual thought. The concept of lesbian sex existed even when no particular term was used to identify it. Donoghue (1993) documents the use of generic terms such as ‘kind’, ‘species’ and ‘genius’ (i.e. genus) in mid-eighteenth-century discussions of lesbians, abstract phrases such as ‘feminine congression’ or ‘accompanying with other women’, and abundant euphemisms: ‘irregular’, ‘uncommon’, ‘unaccountable’ and ‘unnatural’, ‘vicious Irregularities’, ‘unaccountable intimacies’, ‘uncommon and preternatural Lust’, ‘unnatural Appetities in both Sexes’, ‘unnatural affections’, ‘abominable and unnatural pollutions’. 

There is much evidence to suggest that the earlier use of the word ‘hermaphrodite’ was as much a euphemism for ‘homosexual’ as the modern term ‘bisexual’. There is ever-increasing pressure towards abstraction; in many circles today, gay men are called ‘men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM)’, while lesbians are regularly called ‘women-loving-women’. On the Internet, all groups are now embraced within the acronym MOTSS (members of the same sex) or LGBTQ (lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer). This may be convenient, but I don’t think it is an advance in epistemology.

We do have to acknowledge that there do not seem to exist words in early languages which correspond to male and female homosexual, or male and female same-sex relations simultaneously. In other words, there don’t seem to be any words for this high level of abstration until the discipline of sexology begins in relatively modern times. 

It does not necesssarily follow, however, that there were no words for homosexuality as a general concept, and that it was not until the modern age that abstract, generic, ‘scientific’ terms were invented for homosexuality. Before we attach too much significance to the absence of terms that simultaneously cover male and female homosexuality, consider the following.

When modern people use the word ‘homosexual’ or ‘homosexuality’, nine times out of ten they are thinking of male same-sex relations. Only at the last minute will they say, ‘Oh, yeah, this includes women too’, but even then they will probably use the other term ‘lesbian’. When the terms were coined in the late nineteenth century, they were used predominantly – in fact almost entirely – in the context of legal prohibitions against sex between men. ‘Inverts’ were almost always considered to be men. 

When John Addington Symonds worked with Havelock Ellis on the bookSexual Inversion, the first book on homosexuality in English, only at the last minute was Symonds persuaded to include a chapter on female homosexulity in his historical survey. (Ellis’s wife Edith was a lesbian, and she got her lesbian friends to contribute their case studies to the project. In her circle, they used the word ‘lesbian’ rather than ‘female sexual inversion/homosexuality’, but eventually this was sublimated into the abstract consideration by her husband.)

A second thing to consider is that it is really only in the English language that you can have one single word for both sexes, because European (and most other) languages require different forms for masculine and feminine (and neuter) nouns etc. Strictly speaking, the words that were coined in German were homosexualist (which means ‘male homosexual’) and homosexualistin (which means ‘female homosexual’). 

The same division is true for other equivalent words (e.g. in Ulrichs’s system Urningthum meant specifically male homosexuality, the Urningwas specifically a male homosexual, and the female homosexual was anUrningin. Ulrichs’s classification system has more than 30 terms, but though they are all very ‘scientific’ and abstract, the only term that applies equally to men and women is Urnische Liebe, ‘homosexual love’ (though even that is really used most of the time about men). When we stand back and look at his system, it appears as though he has conceptualized the abstract concepts of ‘the homosexual’ and ‘the bisexual’ and ‘the heterosexual’, but I think all his concepts, strictly speaking, label specifically male or female examples of these.

The claim that in ancient and indigenous cultures there are no words for homosexuality as a general concept, is true only if you insist that the term simultaneously encompasses men and women. Even then it’s not entirely true, because Aquinas defined ‘the vice of sodomy’ as ‘male with male and female with female’, which satisfies the requirements for abstract inclusiveness. If you don’t insist that the term encompass men and women, then you will find terms for male homosexuality and male homosexuals as general concepts, and female homosexuality and female homosexuals as general concepts, and male and female heterosexuals and heterosexuality as general concepts.

For example, ancient cuneiform texts have been found describing male homosexuality as a generalized concept, ‘the love of a man for a man’, and one cuneiform text mentions lesbians. As early as the third century BC Hellenic writers coined the word gunaikerastria to denote sexual relations between women. This term means ‘female lover of women’ and is as scientific a term as one could wish, less euphemistic than ‘lesbian’, more economical than ‘sex between women’, and devoid of value judgements.

There were many ancient terms for abstract concepts or categories of homosexual. In the Byzantine Empire there were several words for male homosexuality in general (rather than words for effeminate or receptive homosexuality in particular): paiderastia, pederasty; arrhenomixia, mingling with males; arrhenokoitia, coitus with males. The two latter terms are perfect behaviourist equivalents to ‘homosexuality’. 

Paiderastia, from Classical Greek paiderastes, boy-lover, is itself a general concept, strictly speaking no narrower than the modern ‘man-lover’. Boswell (1994) points out that ‘the most common words for "child" in both Greek (pais) and Latin (puer) also mean "slave," so in many cases when an adult is said to be having sex with someone designated by these terms it could simply be with his slave or servant’. 

In other words paiderastia, pederasty, is not necessarily narrowly confined to boys, but may be closer to ‘homosexuality’ than modern historians acknowledge. The pederastic pair consists of the erastes and the eromenos, ‘lover’ and ‘beloved’; we can infer an active/passive division, but strictly speaking these are not examples of inserter/receptor terminology, and the term ‘boyfriend’ was not used in a particularly derogatory fashion. The modern Greeks, under the influence of (American) English usage, have abandoned these terms, and use the awkward term omophylophilia.

Metaphors and tropes are as important for understanding homosexual culture as more precise ‘scientific’ terms. Among the ancient Toltecs (conquered by the Aztecs), queers worshipped the transgender god/goddess of non-procreative sexuality and flowers named Xochiquetzal, and sodomy was called the ‘Dance of the Flowers’. 

In China, metaphors such as ‘the passion of the cut sleeve’ or ‘the southern custom’ encompassed queer-cultural values of love and loyalty for some two thousand years. The earliest Chinese word referring to homosexual relations dates from the sixth century, nanfeng, literally ‘male wind’ (still used today as a literary expression for male homosexuality), perhaps more accurately translated as ‘male custom’ or ‘male practice’ (Hinsch 1990). Another term from this period is nanse, male lust or male eroticism (se denotes sexual attraction or passion). These words are as abstract (hence ‘scientific’) as the word ‘homosexuality’ coined thirteen hundred years later. 

Nanfeng actually has two sets of characters pronounced the same, one meaning ‘male custom’ and the other meaning ‘southern custom’ (‘man’ and ‘south’ are both pronounced nan). Homosexuality is believed to have been especially popular in Fujian and Guangdong, the southern regions of China, and ‘southern custom’ was the term for homosexuality during the Ming period; nanfeng shu, the southern custom tree, which consists of two trees, one larger than the other, entwined with one another to become one, was a standard icon of homosexuality in Chinese literature (Ng 1989, Hinsch 1990).

The Chinese language is particularly rich in queer metaphors that do not relate directly to sex/gender roles, but to a larger complex of queer culture with an emphasis upon desires, tendencies, preferences and emotional commitments rather than sexual acts. 

Apart from Chinese, Tamil and Kannada language is rich with queer metaphors according to Keshiraja's  Sapthamanitharpana (Kannada Grammar) he refers more than 9 genders. Tamil texts and Grammar supports gender diversity. 

The two main terms for male homosexual relations, ‘passion of the cut sleeve’ (duanxiu pi orpian) and ‘joy of the shared peach’ both derive from ancient stories about specific emperors and their favourites dating back to the sixth century BC, a literary tradition kept alive for more than two thousand years. ‘Emperor Ai [reigned 6 BC—1 AD] was sleeping in the daytime with Dong Xian stretched out across his sleeve. When the emperor wanted to get up, Dong Xian was still asleep. Because he did not want to disturb him, the emperor cut off his own sleeve and got up.’ This story ‘was alluded to repeatedly in later literature and gave men of subsequent ages a means for situating their own desires within an ancient tradition. By seeing their feelings as passions of the "cut sleeve," they gained a consciousness of the place of male love in the history of their society’ (Hinsch 1990).

The story of the fickle emperor Duke Ling of Wei (534–493 BC) and his devoted favourite Mizi Xia was so famous that his very name became a catchword for homosexuality, and ‘the joy of the half-eaten peach’ became one of the most frequently used phrases to denote homosexuality in general for more than two thousand years. ‘Another day Mizi Xia was strolling with the ruler in an orchard and, biting into a peach and finding it sweet, he stopped eating and gave the remaining half to the ruler to enjoy. "How sincere is your love for me!" exclaimed the ruler. "You forgot your own appetite and think only of giving me good things to eat!"’ (Hinsch 1990). 

However, later when the ruler’s ardour cooled, Mizi Xia was executed for committing some crime against Duke Ling, who professed not to believe his innocence. ‘"After all", said the ruler, "he once stole my carriage, and another time he gave me a half-eaten peach to eat!"’ This is obviously a poetic symbol, and it seems to me that like all symbols it encapsulates an essence, in this case the essence of homosexual love. It is also worth noting that the metonym of the half-eaten peach connotes a generalized eroticism rather than any specifically active or receptive sexual role, emphasizing the mutual sharing of the fruits of that love.

The male prostitutes who flourished in late Imperial China were calledxiaochang, little singers. By the time laws were promulgated to regulate homosexuality during the Ming dynasty, the legal term for homosexuality was jijian, a derogatory term meaning ‘chicken lewdness’, from ji, chicken, and jian, ‘private, secret’, which may reflect a popular belief about the behaviour of domesticated fowl. 

By 1985, in Taiwan, a long and noble history of poetic metaphors had been replaced by an exact translation of the most notorious Western euphemism: Bugan shuo chu kou de ai – ‘The love that dare not speak its name’!

Genderqueer in Meenakshi Temple, Madurai. © Srishti Madurai.

Madurai inspite of its historical significance has a vast queer significance which can be seen in the sculptures of Meenakshi Amman temple which traces back to more than thousand years.

The most important sculpture we have seen is the sculptures depicting the same sex love, queer love and homosexual activity between two men and two women.  Such kinds of depictions were previously found in the Khajuraho temple. But such depictions, found in Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple is quite important to consider.

There is a well less known transsexual people known as Neutrois, within the Transgendered community, who will change their body in such a way that they cannot be identified as male or female physically. 

The awareness about the existence of Neutrois is even scare within the psychiatric community itself. But what made us more exciting is the depiction of Neutrois theme in Kala Samhara deity. The deity, typically with a male like body, and represented with lack of any sexual organ typically represents a MTN (Male to Neutrois) person.

Arjuni with mustache and breast at Meenakshi Temple

Another interesting sculpture we had found is with mustache, but with breasts. Such kind of gender variant forms can be seen in the case of Intersex people, who have biologically both male and female traits. Such a contradictory gender role represented in Aayirankaal mandapam is quite exciting. Even people today show aversion to the people having the contradictory gender roles, but the sculptures had depicted that several years ago.

Several Narthagi sculptures are depicted in the temple and most of the Narthagi’s belong to the Transwomen community.

Another interesting depiction is on Autosexuality. Autosexuals are characterized by the lack of interest in sex with other people, but they will only engage in sexual activities such as masturbation and Autofellatio. The lion sculptured in the temple depicts the Autofellatio activity.

The Sanishwara deity which is the well known Transgendered deity can be seen in the temple. It is a excellent example of gender variance. 

The Ardanarishwara represents the Intersex condition known as Gynandromorphism and this statue is the depiction of the both male and female elements in a clear way.

Another one deity is the Shankara Narayana which is Shiva and Vishnu combined. The combination of both male elements is quite interesting feature of this deity.

Several other deities such as Sri Pitchandavar, Veerabathra whom belong to the third Gendered community is represented here.

The Arjuna statue, the person with the characteristic Trigendered gender can be seen there. Arjuna as a male is Arjuna, as a female Arjuna is Arjuni and as a third gendered person, Arjuna is Brihanalla. Thus the Arjuna serves as a best example for the Trigender system of Genderqueer.

Meenakshi amman herself represents the Genderqueer aspect. The queerness of Meenakshi amman, lies in her three breasted condition. She was born in the putra kameshwari yaga, and she was raised as a male. It could be the representation for the Genderqueer butch or Transmen imagery. The deity could be attributed as Genderqueer butch, because it had the combination of both male and female elements which makes us to hard to determine whether the deity is male or female, but at the same time, showing a predominant masculine/.butch expression.Moreover according to some critics,the metaphor of three breasts, represents the queer explanation of two breasts and one phallus, thus giving a Transwomen imagery to the Meenakshi amman deity. there are many evidence on genderqueer and Same-sex love in Meenakshi temple was destroyed by Malik-kafur and Sultanates. Scenarios changed during 1311, when Alauddin Khilji of Khilji dynasty sent his general Malik Kafur on an expedition to the kingdoms of the south which led to the capture of Warangal, the overthrow of the Hoysala Empire south of the Krishna River, and the occupation of Madurai in the extreme south. Malik Kafur himself a castrated male he showed his agony and depression by removing the reproductive organs of the statue in Meenakshi temple. As Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ordered his followers to destroy the temple of Allat of Pagan cult which supported the gender diversity and same sex love in Mecca.  

'Purusha Mirugham'- a mythological seer-beast whose milk was considered holy. A staunch Shiva devotee this seer-beast's milk was needed for Yudhishtra to fulfill his Rajasuya Yagna in one of the folk versions of Mahabharatha tale. So the Gender-variants were so well woven into the mythological narratives of India that we actually should never feel any distance with them as even the dominant genders today are also simply one of the various gender variants - just somehow favored in evolution for the time being.

The point here is that the queer nature is part of the natural law of God; it should be accepted for what it is, no more and no less. 

Hindus are generally conservative but it seems to me that in ancient India, they even celebrated sexuality & Gender diversity as an enjoyable part of procreation, where priests were invited for ceremonies in their home to mark the beginning of the process and emergence of queer is not serving the purpose of a heretic order, but one which is required by the straight community itself. It serves two purposes:- construction of "otherness" and a way of over-confirmation of being straight! Actually the desire of society is not the exclusion of queer, but inclusion at a distance!

Sri Meenakshi Devi with 3 breast

What is Genderqueer ?

Genderqueer

Genderqueer is an umbrella term covering non-normative gender identity and gender expression.

The label may also be used by individuals wishing to identify as holding queer or non-normative gender without being any more specific about the nature of their gender.

As an umbrella term, Genderqueer has similar scope to nonbinary with most nonbinary-identifying individuals also considering themselves genderqueer. However the terms have different scope and connotations. The term genderqueer predates nonbinary by at least a decade.

 History

Genderqueer was originally coined in the 1990s as 'Gender Queer' and was for a period written as 'GenderQueer' before setting to a single word. The original meaning was literally queer gender, including anyone who felt the way they experienced or expressed gender was queer. The term carries the non-normative and anti-assimilationist connotations of the Queer Movement and applies these to gender rather than sexuality.

The earliest known use of the term is by Riki Anne Wilchins in the Spring 1995 newsletter of Transexual Menace.

Riki Wilchins' essay from the 2002 anthology GenderQueer describes how the original 'Gender Queers' adopted the label because the intended-to-be-inclusive umbrella term transgender had begun to be most strongly associated with transsexual, gender binary identified and medically transitioning people, pushing out those who did not fit this dominant transgender narrative.

By 1999/2000, online communities such as the Sphere mailing list were using the term genderqueer as an umbrella to unite a number of nonbinary gender identities and identifications that are now thought of as under the nonbinary umbrella. Over the next decade, genderqueer developed as a standalone identity with particular (sub)cultural expectations and connotations, while the tendency to identify particular experiences under its umbrella seemed to diminish. However both uses are still visible in different online and in person communities.

 Difference between Genderqueer and Nonbinary

Genderqueer means non-normative or queer gender while nonbinary means gender that falls outside the gender binary model. Both of these terms are extremely similar in scope, however in practice their connotations are significantly different.

Genderqueer comes with the anti-assimilationist political connotations of Queer, which is a reappropriated slur word (still actively used in some regions) with strong associations with a countercultural sexuality movement that sets itself apart from the mainstream LGBT community. As such genderqueer implies a similar counterculture, setting itself apart from mainstream transgender discourse. Most genderqueer people also consider themselves to be queer and there is a strong trend of rejecting the gender binary and normative gender roles with in the Queer Movement as a whole.

By contrast, nonbinary is more politically neutral in its connotations. Nonbinary was coined as a descriptive term, originally simply 'non-binary gender', used to describe the range of experiences that fall outside of the binary gender model. There is no countercultural anti-transgender discourse connotation, nor is there a connotation of association with the wider Queer Movement. Nonbinary is intended to simply cover the widest range of identities and experiences without intending to describe their political or cultural philosophies and affiliations.

 

Observed differences between people who hold each identity

While genderqueer and nonbinary are theoretically extremely similar in their scope as umbrella terms, in practice genderqueer slants more towards those who identify as queering gender while nonbinary tends to attract those who hold specific trans* or transgender identities that fall outside of the gender binary.

Genderqueer-identified people seem to be more likely to hold binary gender identities (eg, 'Genderqueer Woman') while considering their gender expression or gender performance to be queer or non-normative, while nonbinary-identified people are more likely to consider their gender identity (or lack of gender identity) to fall outside of the binary. Genderqueer-identified people seem to be more likely to consider themselves to be queer or a member of the queer community.

Nonbinary-identified people generally seem more comfortable with considering themselves transgender and more likely to use the language of gender dysphoria. The adoption of the term 'nonbinary' by parts of the genderqueer community may reflect a trend of adopting the language of the transgender rights movement in order to make use of and expand on the legal protections now afforded to transgender people in some localities. Nonbinary-identified people may be more likely to be seeking access to transgender medical care or legal recognition (aka transition).

Some nonbinary people reject the term genderqueer as an umbrella term because they are offended to be associated with queer sexuality, or still see queer as an offensive slur word.

Despite these trends and connotations, both terms are used by some members of each group and so may be considered as wide inclusive umbrella terms. Some genderqueer-identified people have sought 'transition', some nonbinary-identified people hold binary gender identities and consider themselves to be nonbinary by gender expression, and it is currently common for nonbinary-identified individuals to also identify as genderqueer (especially as this term predates nonbinary by at least a decade).

 

Is Genderqueer Transgender?

There is controversy within the genderqueer community over whether genderqueer people fall under the transgender umbrella. Despite the work of Leslie Feinberg in the 1990s to coin transgender as a wide and inclusive umbrella term covering all forms of transgressive gender, the term genderqueer developed out of a frustration with the association between transgender and transsexualism, gender dysphoria and the dominant transgender narrative.

It is common for genderqueer-identified people to consider trans and transgender to be synonymous with transition and so to claim genderqueer as a non-transgender identity. This is especially true with people who are genderqueer by gender expression only, but also applies to some genderqueer people who are comfortable with their body and see transgender as synonymous with bodily gender dysphoria.

As such, it is important when talking about genderqueer and nonbinary people to recognise that not all people who hold these identities consider themselves to fall under the transgender umbrella.

later in 2012 Genderqueer was also known as Gender-variants, Srishti Madurai the first literature and resource genderqueer students circle did many research on this particular topic.