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| Photo credit: Olga Torovyk |
Recently the third gender has become one of the hottest topics which
concerns mostly the millennials. There have been many debates about it and
either it should be legalized and recognized internationally as something real.
Any open minded individual would not judge and even though would not completely
accept it, should at least analyze and consider the different opinions. On one
side, this new gender type is accepted as a thread to the society and the
structure of the healthy, normal well being of the humanity. It has been seen
as a twisted and as something wrong which is against religion and other
institutions that have been built over the centuries. But what if these
structures are already falling apart? Just like the stereotypical eight hour
working day which has been replaced by home based jobs. Christianity says
‘’no’’ to accepting the third gender, but if we look back in history, there are
many signs that this idea started long time ago and was popular in many
different cultures like Japan, Pakistan and even Egypt. On the other hand, many
men and women decide to ‘’play’’ with nature and take advantage of the
democracy by choosing to be from the opposite gender, not because of their physical
needs, but because it either makes their lives easier or it is simply ‘’cool
and fashionable’’.
Many states in America started to legalize the third gender and even
included it in official documents. According to www.vox.com last June,
Oregon became the first to recognize a non-binary gender option on driver’s
licenses. Later on, three more states followed: Washington, New York and
California which became the first state to ever allow non-binary residents to
change their gender on legal documents, including birth certificates. It turns
out that this is a relief for many people who have been hiding their true
selves from the society and have been constantly tired from explaining why they
consider themselves having an ‘’gender-expansive’’. Similar to the massive
social dilemma with the gay marriages few years ago, a lot of people stand
against the idea. The third gender ‘’holders’’ admit that they don’t get any
attention because of their uniqueness and if they do, it would be in a violent
way. They insist that the experiences they have are not made up and that they
are not seeking for attention. There is a possibility that these people are
just hybrids and an organic combination of both men and women characteristics.
So, maybe this is the next step of the evolution and progress of the humanity
which has been on very high turnovers for the last decade. Apparently the real
third gender ‘’passport holders’’ only want to be accepted from their
co-citizens.
In this case they are being accepted, it is all good and the world is
pink. But then the question is what is next? First the gay marriages and now
this. There is nothing bad having the freedom to be whoever you want and follow
your true nature but as humans we tend to use freedom in the wrong way and take
advantage of it. Even though communism was very restrictive, it had its positive
sides as well. Everyone had the same amount of food on the table, the kids were
wearing uniforms, so that nobody had better clothes than the others and somehow
it worked. Yes, it is an old system and said earlier maybe all these old structures
need to stay in the past. But this path of freedom that we have taken is also
full of rocks and is pretty slippery. What I’ve learned from history books is
that many organizations, ideas and structures started with good intentions but
then they got twisted in the wrong way because of greed, desire for attention
and power or human weakness. It is a rabbit hole with no end, so unless it has
specific limits it can take us to a very dark road. I am all about freedom,
love and understanding the differences between people, but I also realize that
many of us are probably not ready for many of these changes.
There are some folks from the third gender I have been analyzing. Some of
them became extremely popular and are constantly posting provocative and even
brutal photos and videos. This became a huge propaganda. Everything
pornographic and ugly being promoted and seen by young people as a model of
behavior is wrong. Does not matter if it’s being promoted by a homo guy,
straight person, a transgender or even an alien being. For example, visualize
one of them going out of a hotel with a bunch of money and holding the hand of
some rich guy. That’s a real happening in one of those videos. (check Iva Hadzi
– don’t want to promote it, but just so you know what’s out there) What does
does this situation tell you? Maybe I am wrong, but I feel like some guys
decide to just go for it, because it is the ‘’easy way’’. Women are not the
only ones who take this path and considering the many opportunities the plastic
surgeries has to offer, all of this is actually
not so hard to achieve. Many times during my life I’ve heard straight men
saying: ‘’Only if I was a woman! If I was a beautiful woman, I would have
everything!’’. In my vocabulary, this is called being a wh**e deep in your soul
and it does not have any gender, it is a state of mind.
The people from the third sex are also taking over the fashion world.
This industry has always been a platform where you can express rebellious agendas,
share a statement and even political views. Models has been spokespeople for
many different movements, so why not the third gender one as well? That gives
them a stage where they can get attention and can show that they are also
capable of anything just like the homosexual people, straight ones and
everybody else out there. The world is going trough a cultural shift and the
influencers and models are the ones who can be vocal about what is happening in
the world. Fashion experts even call the transgender models ‘’the future of
fashion’’. Some of the most famous transgender models are: Teddy Quinlivan,
Leyla Bloom, Casil McArthur, Gia Garison and Geena Rocero. They have been
multiple times featured in the most prestigious magazines, have been seen
walking on the catwalk for some of the biggest brands and are given the power
to literally change the face of the industry and how it views women.
On the other hand, there is the religion and it’s opinion on these
delicate topic. The third gender concept is completely against everything
written in the Bible and had made many Christian people quite angry. Having
friends who are extremely religious, I am aware that they don’t have a positive
opinion about this whole gender situation. Even the gay marriages are something
unacceptable for them and according to Christianity ‘’homosexuality is
forbidden by God’’. This is something that can not be proved because after all
the Bible has been written by men many years ago when people were not so well
informed about their own sexuality. So, another theory suggests that they are
all part of God’s creation and is the higher being made the way they are, we
should accept it as well.
Many religions have the idea of a being which is
described as one with multiple gender individualities. For instance, many
Native American tribes had multiple genders far before the European explorers
‘’discovered’’ the continents which are called the Americas today, according to
www.rampages.us
. These individuals were actually considered as ‘’two spirited’’ people and
were highly respected because of their presumable bond with the higher
consciousness. They were healers and people with medical knowledge and they
also had a very strong presence in the Native American traditions. The Mahu
people in Hawaii also believed that the people with dual, both female and male
individualities, are special and represented a connection between the
higher-self and the human beings. They were not only accepting the feminine men
and the masculine women, but they also had deep connection with the ancient
Hawaiian beliefs and traditions.
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| Man and youth (another name for the Wakashu) |
Japan has also a strong multi-gender figure in
their history – the Wakashu. They were boys with androgynous appearance which
means they had both feminine and boyish features. They were sexually desired
from sexes because of their playful nature. In Mexico third gender people are
even celebrated with festivals like the Vela de las Intrepidas, or Vigil of the
Intrepids which is happening every year in Oaxaca, Mexico. The third
gender community there is called Muxes which comes from the Spanish word
‘’mujer’’ (woman). They seem to be very skilled and good at creating art and
embroidery. Bissu the Indonesian third gender people who are also highly
respected between their people. The direct translation of Bissu is
‘’transvestite priest’’ which is slightly incorrect because they are not
borrowing female clothes. They wear their own garments which make them look
like women and man at the same time. Bissu often hold ceremonies and give
blessings to others and are believed to have a strong connection with the
spirits.
Another
culture which has embraced the people from the third gender since a very long
time, is Thailand. Considering the fact that I have been living there for just
six months, I noticed that they are quite a big part of the Thai world. You see
ladyboys and shemales literally at every corner. Some of the ladyboys are so
pretty that the only way to recognize their previous gender identity, are the
feet and the big size they wear. This transformation actually starts at a very
young age. If a boy that he has the feeling like he owns a female soul trapped
into a male body, they hide the boy from the world for a while. He undergoes
multiple procedures and lays under the scalpel many times until he is already
she. Then they can reappear in the society and start making money. This is
actually a business in Thailand and brings tons of tourists every year who are
coming especially because of that.
Last but not least I should mention the
people in Pakistan who identify as Khawaja Sira. They are not something
new to South Asia where they exist since a very long time. They have a big
presence in the literature, religion, etc. In the Hindu believes they are
called hijra and they are even considered as divine and even god Ram promised
them the right to rule humanity’s final age (this would definitely shake up
some extreme Christian minds). The hijra can be seen in some Muslim societies
being employed in the Mughal era to guard the royal harems and serve to the
female royalties.
From
a scientific point of view, the multi-gender situation is mostly a mental
state. The experiences that has been reported are mostly concerning the gender
dysphoria which is the unhappy mismatch between the biological sex and the
gender identity, says www.thescientificamerican.com .’’Gender is between
your ears and not between your legs’’, Bono said during a 2009 interview with
ABC’s Good morning America. ‘’As a child, it was really clear. I felt like a
boy… As you get older, it gets more confusing, because suddenly there’s more
pressure to fit into your assigned gender identity. [And so]
a lot of FtMs end up doing a stint in the lesbian community because it just
kind of makes sense.”
During
the late 1980s the psychiatrist Ray Blanchard from the University of Toronto
introduced the theory of ‘’autogynephilia’’ which is the concept of individuals
who are attracted to women but who actually wish to be women themselves. The
memoir Mirror Image by the male-to-female transsexual Nancy Hunt explains the
struggles and the whole desire of a male human to be a woman and to be sexually
involved with other women. “I was feverishly interested in
[girls],” Hunt writes. “I studied their hair, their clothes, their figures. And
I brooded about the increasing differences between us. I seethed with envy
while at the same time becoming sexually aroused—I wanted to possess them even
as I wanted to become them. In my night-time fantasies, as I masturbated or
floated towards sleep, I combined the two compulsions, dreaming of sex but with
myself as the girl.’’
Phycology is not the only science that has been involved in
analyzing this fragile topic. There has been made some experiments on mammals performed
in order to find evidence (NOT proof) that non-binary genders are actually real.
These tests have been made with injections full of testosterone, or
anti-androgens and as a result they have a permanent effect on the animal
behaviors linked to biological sex and show sex differences, says www.quora.com. Human beings have a
similar endocrine system, and similar responses to hormones.
All of this brings us back to the beginning
where I stated that the rejection or the total devotion to one belief or
another, is not the right way to the truth behind any question. Even if the
unknown road of a total acceptance of these individuals is very slippery, I
have to admit that it brings up some interesting question marks in my head.
There are so many written and unwritten human rules and restrictions that we
have been following for so many centuries. Female and male, strong and fragile,
beautiful and masculine, these are only stereotypes. What if I tell you that
there are so many women out there much stronger (mentally and not only) than a
man, why a man should not be metro sexual and take a good care of themselves?
Is a man considered gay if he is going to do his pedicure and even if he is
gay, why would this fact make him less person than someone who is heterosexual.
The world is not only black and white. There is a little gray area between
female and male. Does your soul have a gender? I’ve been even told that I have
androgynous features and at first, because of the lack of education about this topic,
I took a defensive position. Now I actually think it is something beautiful if
you can be many different things living in the same body. The question is
again, are the majority of the people ready for something like that and are
some of them going use it in the wrong way?
Question everything,
Xoxo
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-scientific-proof-that-non-binary-genders-are-real-the-same-way-brain-scans-prove-the-experiences-of-FtM-and-MtFs
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-third-gender-2012-10-23/
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/3/28/17100252/trans-nonbinary-third-gender-youth-legal-recognition
https://www.refinery29.com/2018/02/183486/top-transgender-models-in-fashion-2018
https://rampages.us/zheliaa/2015/11/18/third-gender-and-religion/
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