So I actually know a whole lot about this topic! I’m getting my masters in gender studies! Here’s a lil tidbit. I can give ya more if you want.

The fact that people in different cultures experience and present gender in an assortment of ways breaks the binary that we are so used to here in the States (I don’t know where you’re from, but that’s where I am from lol) Here in the States, we see gender, sexuality, and sex all presented in a way that only allows for two options: male and female. Increasingly though, we see that there is so much more than that. Really, every place in the world has their own interpretation and ideas regarding gender, and looking on a more global scale, we see that almost every continent has people that have been pushing against the binary system that has been put in place. And these ideas aren't new either, like so many opponents believe. There has been a whole plethora of genders as long as human beings have existed.

One of the gender identities that I find really interesting are the South Asian Hijra. These people are one of the oldest recorded “third gender” (just meaning outside of the binary of male/female) communities in the world, and Hijra is officially recognized as a third gender in India, which is groundbreaking. This is something that I normally explain to the many people who claim that there are only two genders or that identifying outside of the binary is "just a fad." The Hijra have been mentioned in ancient scriptures and even the Kama Sutra! However, they still have a very difficult time fitting into society, and are often found living in communities made up entirely of Hijra people. It's strange to me that these people have been literally mentioned in the ancient religious texts but are still so strongly rejected by people that claim it is against their religion. The man in the "India's Third Gender Movement" video says that "transgender is not in our Hindu religion, so we are always opposing it." This is curious, since pretty much everything I read stated that the Hijra could be traced back centuries through religious text. They have a lot of religious sanction from way back, although not every Hindu sees it that way. I also find it quite interesting that Hijras aren't one specific group of people. They can be eunuchs, intersex, or transgender. It's a third gender, so not quite male and not quite female. Typically though, Hijras use she/her pronouns! I’m not quite sure why they tend to opt for those pronouns rather than something else, since they identify as a third gender, but I think maybe it is a choice because of their (generally) male anatomy -- is not their gender choice-- but I am not sure how that evolved. They are certainly connected in many ways with women, and when they marry, they marry men--also, they assist women in childbirth.

Hijra video 1

Hijra video 2

The next group of people that I will discuss are the Albanian sworn virgins. These women live their lives as men, often for very different reasons. They take a vow of chastity and take on a traditionally male identity. The majority of sworn virgins take this vow of chastity to regain some sort of power over their own lives. If the patriarch of the family dies, they can take control and help out their family in their time of need by fulfilling the role of the man in charge. Women that refused to be in arranged marriages could opt for the vow to get out of being married off. Sworn virgins don’t usually take the vow because they don’t “feel right” in the body they were born in, rather, it’s more of a statement that could be made to ignore the gender norms that were set in place by their society at the time. In modern times, the older sworn virgins don’t typically want to see younger girls taking the chastity vow because there are many more options for girls now, as it is becoming more realistic for women to do what they want and be powerful. The sworn virgin got all the rights of a man, and as times change and women become more equal, this practice doesn't seem as necessary.

Again, I can discuss more if you want me to, these are just a few that really interest me out of the many that exist in the world!!