A Dancer of the Third Gender (Hijra, The Third Gender)

A Hijra Story

A Dancer of the 3rd Gender

The protagonist is a boy who has an elder sister learning Kathak (one of the traditional dance forms in India) and he wishes to become as good a dancer as his sister. His mother supports his not-so-manly wishes, but finally, his father comes to know about it. His father disowns his son on the spot, and the son must leave his family and live on his own. The boy is saved by the "hijra" community and he (she) tries to become a Kathak dancer.

Hijra, the Third Gender

series consist of 8 fictions and a non-fiction.

Abducted into the 3rd Gender
A Dancer of the 3rd Gender
A Feminized President
Born into the 3rd Gender
Conspired into the 3rd Gender
Enchanted into the 3rd Gender
Forced into the 3rd Gender
Transgendered People of India (non-fiction)

[What is Hijra?]
Hijra is a word used in India and in other South Asian countries referring to male to female transgender individuals. A hijra would be adopted by a guru in the well organized transgender community believing in the same goddess and living in feminine attire. Rules and ceremonies for adoption, initiation, castration, etc. are well defined in the hijra community. Once you get nirvan (a castration ceremony often done without anesthesia) you cannot go back to your former self. Most hijras live under extremely poor economic conditions with very low status. The word hijra is often used in a derogatory manner. Few employment opportunities are available to hijras. Many get their income performing at ceremonies, begging and prostitution. Hijras face discrimination in health, housing, education, employment and other procedures which involve gender classification.

[Acknowledgement]
The front cover image was derived from a picture of a Kathak dance performer released on Flickr by Meenakshi Payal under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.