Governing Gender and Sexuality in Colonial India

The Hijra , c.1850–1900

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5787485
AutoresJessica Hinchy (0000-0002-9965-6813, Nanyang Technological University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Páginas322
Fecha de publicación2019-04-04
Open AccessSí
TipoBOOK
RevistaGoverning Gender and Sexuality in Colonial India (SOURCE_BOOK)
EditorialCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/9781108592208
OpenAlexW4211219854
Open LibraryOL27759522M
ISBN9781108592208
GOOGLE_BOOK_IDpG2MDwAAQBAJ
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas78
Referencias citadas175

In 1865, the British rulers of north India resolved to bring about the gradual 'extinction' of transgender Hijras. This book, the first in-depth history of the Hijra community, illuminates the colonial and postcolonial governance of gender and sexuality and the production of colonial knowledge. From the 1850s, colonial officials and middle class Indians increasingly expressed moral outrage at Hijras' feminine gender expression, sexuality, bodies and public performances. To the British, Hijras were an ungovernable population that posed a danger to colonial rule. In 1871, the colonial government passed a law that criminalised Hijras, with the explicit aim of causing Hijras' 'extermination'. But Hijras evaded police, kept on the move, broke the law and kept their cultural traditions alive. Based on extensive archival work in India and the UK, Jessica Hinchy argues that Hijras were criminalised not simply because of imported British norms, but due to a complex set of local factors, including elite Indian attitudes

Colonialism · Elite · Geography · Human sexuality · Political science · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Law · Sex work and related issues · 1765-1947 · History · India · Legal status, laws · politics and government · Social conditions · Transgender people