Liminal Aspects of Gender

Paper Summary:

This essay outlines the experience of cross gendered people in both India and the West and discusses liminal aspects of cross gendered experience. The paper begins with a history of the separation of "gender" and "sex", which occurred in the latter half of the twentieth century. The use of the term "gender" as a reference for the social aspects of sex identity first occurred in the context of clinical research on intersexuality (hermaphroditism) in the 1950's. The paper then explores the issues of transgender and cross-gender in today's times, specifically focusing on India as compared to the West. The paper explains that sex and gender are currently being redefined by feminist scholars with challenges to the 'universal' sex/gender binary through cross-cultural analysis.

From the Paper:

"One of the most dynamic and relevant areas in anthropology today is the field of sex and gender in anthropology, with feminist scholars redefining Western, and anthropological, sex/gender "norms" through cross-cultural analysis. "The possibility of having more than two genders was opened up by divorcing gender from sexual morphology and by associating gender rather, indeed primarily, with social role and labor tasks" (Ramet 1996: 2). While concepts of universal, male:female, sexual binaries are being called into question, cross-cultural evidence and anthropological theories are being employed in entirely new ways."

More papers on Liminal Aspects of Gender:

• Analytical Essay # 139988 : "The Personal and Social Consequences of Gender Construction"
• Argumentative Essay # 119523 : "Opposing Views of Gender Role"
• Analytical Essay # 119530 : "Origins of Gender Normative Behaviors"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: