2007-09-27 05:08:52 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
The terms third gender and third sex describe individuals who are considered to be neither women nor men, as well as the social category present in those societies who recognize three or more genders.
The state of being neither male nor female may be understood in relation to the individual's sex, gender role, gender identity or sexual orientation. To different cultures or individuals, a third sex or gender may represent an intermediate state between men and women, a state of being both (such as "the spirit of a man in the body of a woman"), the state of being neither (neuter), the ability to cross or swap genders, or another category altogether independent of male and female. This last definition is favored by those who argue for a strict interpretation of the "third gender" concept.
The term has been used to describe Hijras of India and Pakistan, Fa'afafine of Polynesia, and Sworn virgins of the Balkans, among others, and is also used by many of such groups and individuals to describe themselves. In the Western world, lesbian, gay, transgender and intersex people have been described as belonging to a third sex or gender, although some object to this characterization.
Since at least the 1970s, anthropologists have described gender categories in some cultures which they could not adequately explain using a two-gender framework. At the same time, feminists began to draw a distinction between (biological) sex and (social/psychological) gender. Contemporary gender theorists usually argue that a two-gender system is neither innate nor universal. A sex/gender system which only recognizes the following two social norms has been labeled "heteronormativity":
* female genitalia = female identity = feminine behavior = desire male partner
* male genitalia = male identity = masculine behavior = desire female partner
2007-09-27 05:14:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
What third sexes?
2007-09-27 12:11:01 · answer #2 · answered by Pirate AM™ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
... THIRD sex??
Oh great - I've barely figured out the rules of conduct with the two I know about! ...now there's a third???
2007-09-27 12:12:39 · answer #3 · answered by Eric C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You would have to visit the planet Ork, and ask them. On earth, there are only two sexes.
2007-09-27 12:11:37 · answer #4 · answered by Clint 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋