Hijra (India)

In Indian culture, the hijra is a so-called "third sex." (The term "hijra" in this context is to be distinguished from an Arabic word of the same spelling.) A human being in India who is born with male genitalia but identifies as a female human being will very likely become socialized as a hijra. This socially constructed category involves involvement in a special caste and in a religious cult with its own mother goddess, Bahuchara Mata. Becoming a hijra involves a process of gradual socialization into that social group, and gradual assumption of a female gender identity. The culmination of this process is surgical removal of penis and testicles.

For further information, see:

Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India by Serena Nanda. Wadsworth Publishing, 1998. (ISBN:0-53450-903-7)

Lovemaps, p. 106, by John Money. Irvington Publishers, Inc., 1988. (ISBN:0-87975-456-7)