Gender, Sexuality and Globalizati

Social convention says there are two types of people: male and female. And you know who’s who based on their genitalia. But in fact, various cultures have long recognized members who buck the biological binary.

The ancients wrote of people who were neither men nor women; individuals have been swapping genders for centuries; and intellectuals have fiercely debated the connection between the body and the self.
Today, there are many populations with alternative identities,

hijras in South Asia,
kathoeys in Thailand
muxes in Mexico

Gender and Sexuality in THAILAND

"Are bodies everywhere defined as male or female and variations on that? If so why?"
Either way, "how do human societies determine sex and gender?"

Sexual dimorphism: variations on the theme

The first question posed was, "Are bodies always defined as male or female and variations on that?" The concept we'll use to describe the male-female sexual distinction is "sexual dimorphism". Many societies emphasize a distinction between men and women. But men and women are construed differently. So what kinds of variations of this theme of sexual dimorphism can we find?

Hogbin on Menstruating Men

Let us start with a society with a rigid distinction between males and females.

Wogeo is an island off the northern coast of New Guinea. Local residents have produced extraordinary masks. On Wogeo, for example, men and women are separate. Women have an advantage over men, in that they menstruate naturally. 'Obviously' men need to menstruate too, but they have to go through the pain and bother of slicing their penis to release menstrual blood.

You can read the original here.

I have also made a summary here.

Wogeo men

The Wogeo example apparently presents us with an extreme example of sexual dimorphism. To the extent that men rule women, the term patriarchy might also be applied to Wogeo society.

Sambia

To take another example from New Guinea, the Sambia try to maintain distance between adult males and females. They go to what would seem to be extraordinary lengths to avoid contact. However, this makes sense when the perceived 'polluting' nature of women's menstrual blood is taken into account.

This is explained in a segment from an ethnographic film

This ethnographic film is called "Guardians of the Flutes". The film takes its name from the book by anthropologist Gilbert Herdt, Guardians of the Flutes.

I think it could be said that in these two societies men are not naturally manly.

Babies with penises are designated as boys, but men need to be made from boys. In fact, there is a great risk that men will be emasculated and become feminine by too much contact with women. (This could be contrasted with a perception that babies with penises are naturally more manly; will be kicking in the womb, stronger when they are born, etc)

Nanda, Travesti of Brazil

Until recently, at least, Western societies tended to define sexuality (ie. homo-, bi-, and hetero-sexuals; LGBTI) in terms of sexual, identity, orientation or attraction. But there are other ways to define sexuality.

In Brazilian culture, travestí or men who are anally penetrated by other men, are not understood in similar terms. How are they understood? Along with women, they are considered as not-men. So, the basic gender division in lower-class Brazilian society:

Penis people who penetrate = male
People (whether they possess penis or vagina) who are penetrated = not male

Travesti

Tcherkezoff: Fa'afafine & Tomboys in Samoa

"Transgender in Samoa..." is a great reading Prof Helen Lee - It provides a good example of applying theory to gender variety in Samoa:

" ...fa‘afāfine are persons whose families and neighbors characterize them as boys at birth but who, later in life (usually in late childhood or early adolescence), are said to act “in the way of women” (fa‘a-fafine, the plural of the term being fa‘afāfine). However, they never introduce themselves as “fa‘afāfine,” but by their own given names. If queried about their gender, they reply that they are “girls.
...another gendered category, which few in mainstream Samoan society are willing to talk about openly... is, girls or women who are said to be born as girls but who come to be viewed as acting in the way of men....

There are two differences between them and fa‘afāfine. First, they don’t claim to be of the other gender: they assert that they are girls, not boys. Second, there is no straightforward Samoan term that designates them as being “in the way of boys or men.” When Samoans refer to them, they use various circumlocutions (e.g., “exhibiting the behavior of boys or men”) or, more pithily, the English borrowing “tomboy.”...

This contrast between fa‘afafine and tomboy is not just a matter of terminology but runs deeper, in that Samoans born as boys who act like girls have at their disposal a much broader range of identificational practices than Samoans born as girls who act like boys...this asymmetry works directly to the detriment of tomboys."

Fa'afafine

In other words, 'transgender' men are more accepted than 'transgender' women.

Similar findings from West Sumatra in Indonesia as discussed by Evelyn Blackwood in "Tombois in West Sumatra: Constructing Masculinity and Erotic Desire".

Graham: 5 Genders of the Bugis in Sulawesi

Among the Bugis, there are male transexual priests, transgender women, transgender men, women, and men. Graham (2001) sees these as 5 genders:

The Bugis acknowledge three sexes (female, male, hermaphrodite), four genders (women, men, calabai, and calalai), and a fifth meta-gender group, the bissu.

'Bissu' tends to be translated as 'transvestite priest', but this term is less than satisfactory. Transvestite implies cross-dressing, but bissu have their own distinctive clothing. Moreover, bissu do not go from one gender to another; they are a combination of all genders. To become a bissu, one must be born both female and male, or hermaphroditic. (To be precise, the Bugis believe that a bissu who appears externally male is internally female, and vice versa). This combination of sexes enables a 'meta-gender' identity to emerge.
This brings us to calalai and calabai. Strictly speaking, calalai means 'false man' and calabai 'false woman'. However, people are not harrassed for identifying as either of these gender categories. On the contrary, calalai and calabai are seen as essential to completing the gender system. A useful analogy suggested to me by Dr Greg Acciaioli is to imagine the Bugis gender system of South Sulawesi as a pyramid, with the bissu at the apex, and men, women, calalai, and calabai located at the four base corners.
Calalai are anatomical females who take on many of the roles and functions expected of men. For instance, Rani works alongside men as a blacksmith, shaping kris, small blades and other knives. Rani wears men's clothing and ties hir sarong in the fashion of men. Rani also lives with hir wife and their adopted child, Erna. While Rani works with men, dresses as a man, smokes cigarettes, and walks alone at night, which are all things women are not encouraged to do, Rani is female and therefore not considered a man. Nor does Rani wish to become a man. Rani is calalai. Rani's female anatomy, combined with hir occupation, behaviour, and sexuality, allows Rani to identify, and be identified, as a calalai.
Calabai, conversely, are anatomical males who, in many respects, adhere to the expectations of women. However, calabai do not consider themselves women, are not considered women. Nor do they wish to become women, either by accepting restrictions placed on women such as not going out alone at night, or by recreating their body through surgery. However, whereas calalai tend to conform more to the norms of men, calabai have created a specific role for themselves in Bugis society.

Bissu, calalai, and calabai challenge the notion that individuals must conform to one of two genders, woman or man, and that one's anatomy must support one's gender. Bugis gender reveals the diverse nature of human identity.

Heteronormativity & Western Sexuality

A heteronormative approach holds on to gender binaries and takes heterosexual sex to be normal. A heteronormative approach aligns biological 'sex', sexuality, gender identity, and gender roles. I don't think many people self-identify as 'heteronormative'. Rather it is term used among scholars and activists to characterize what are perceived as conservative views on sexuality.

Male-male sex, for example, is considered 'deviant'; women are better at nurturing; men are naturally more aggressive and physical--all these are heteronormative attitudes. In another way, what he said fits into binaries of man-woman; rational-emotional; provider-nurturer.

https://youtu.be/DhhkA-w02QA

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/21/vogue-cover-features-transgender-muxe-from-mexico-for-the-first-time

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Cultural Anthropology 2022