Law and Humanities
Quarterly Reviews
ISSN 2827-9735
Published: 28 June 2023
‘Living on the Edge’: Examining the Socio-economic Issues of India’s Transsexuals
Surbhi, Khaikholen Haokip
Central University of Gujarat, India
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10.31014/aior.1996.02.02.65
Pages: 132-142
Keywords: Discrimination, Gender, Identity, Transsexuals, Transgenders, Socio-Economic
Abstract
Transsexuals, the subset of transgenders, constitute one of the most discriminated and marginalised communities in India. Given the deeply entrenched heteronormative values in Indian society, which essentializes binary beliefs about sex and gender, any transgressions of these values and beliefs invariably evoke societal backlash. This study examines how heteronormativity, which fuels transphobia, impinges upon the lives of the transsexuals – both male-to-female (MtF) and female-to-male (FtM) transsexuals. Through narrative inquiry, the study sheds light on how transsexuals, despite the burgeoning legal provisions for protection of their rights and entitlements, continue to endure various social and economic infirmities. Ensuring equality for transsexuals, or for that matter the trans peoples, calls for, inter alia, confronting gender essentialism and mending the gap between law and implementation.
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