Redefined families and subsystems: Reading kinship and hierarchical structures in select Hijra autobiographies

Abstract

Hijras or transwomen in India are gendered identities, but their identities cannot be reduced to the conceptual framework and analysis of ‘sex’, ‘gender’ and ‘sexuality’. Being the minority in India, transgender lives intersect with caste, class, kinship and hierarchy. The study locates these intersections within the scope of the select hijra autobiographies; The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story by A. Revathi and I am Vidya by Vidya. The study looks at the notions of ‘family’ which are traditionally woven in heteronormative and patriarchal setups. It examines the gharanas system or subsystems in hijra communities that redefines the structures and hierarchies of the family, and designating the fellow elder hijras with the relation of mata (mother) and cela (disciple), thus forming a kinship which is located beyond the caste, class and religious structures. The emphasis is to study how families are inserted in heteronormative perspectives and argues a redefining of the notion of ‘family’,and to establish and recognize the newer perspectives on ‘family’ which lies outside the traditional setup.