Written by Amanda Zunner-Keating, Corey Blatz, Lindsay Donaldson, Deanna Lazaro, Arlene Rodriguez, and Alexandra Zysman.

Audio recording for chapter 1 is available on Soundcloud. 

1. 1 What is anthropology?

As you begin a new course in anthropology, you may be unclear on what anthropologists do. As anthropology is the study of humanity, the work of anthropologists spans a wide range of subjects and touches upon all areas of the human experience. Anthropologists study all elements of human life in an effort to gain a “big picture” understanding of what it means to be human.

There are four major fields of anthropology:

1. Anthropological archaeology: the study of human behavior through objects people leave behind.
2. Linguistics: the study of the human experience through language.
3. Biological anthropology: the study of human diversity, biology, and evolution.
4. Cultural anthropology: the study of human culture.

The work produced by anthropologists is diverse and touches upon all areas of the human experience. While some anthropologists are interested in producing objective sets of observations about a cultural group, others seek to identify and propose policy changes based on their research (using anthropological research to advocate for human rights or policy change is called applied anthropology). Read through the next four sections to gain a better understanding of the type of work produced by anthropologists.

1.2 Alicia Odewale: Anthropological Archeologist

Written by Deanna Lazaro and Amanda Zunner-Keating. Edited by Lisa Matthies-Barnes and Ken Seligson. 

Archeology is the subfield of anthropology that studies human remains and human artifacts (items created by human beings). While the word “archeology” often brings to mind images of ancient and prehistoric artifacts, archeologists also engage with modern remains in order to make sense of our culture and recent events. What is now known as The Tulsa Massacre is one such relatively recent event that requires the attention of archeologists.

By 1921, the majority Black Oklahoman community of Greenwood was widely known to be a prosperous and thriving community; it was popularly called “Black Wall Street.”  That year, a Black man was falsely accused of attacking a white woman causing the surrounding white community to violently attack Greenwood. Tragically, hundreds of people were killed and the entire thirty-five-block area of Greenwood was burnt to the ground (ten thousand people were left homeless) (PM Press 2020). Until very recently, archeological research was not conducted in this area causing this event to be under-represented in historical texts.

Archeologist Alicia Odewale is working to elevate our understanding of the aftermath of the Tulsa Massacre through her archeological work in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Odewale is engaged with active dig sites and the primary focus of her work emphasizes the ways that survivors and descendants of the massacre managed to survive the long-term impact of the tragedy. Working with the University of Tulsa and leading a team of student archeologists, Odewale digs, researches, and analyzes the physical remnants of the massacre in order to fully understand the events surrounding the Tulsa Massacre and the long term impact of the violent event.

Odewale combines archeological digs with community interviews to uncover the untold stories of Greenwood. Her research shows that Greenwood survivors after 1921 worked together to build their community back. Initially living in tents, the people came together to build wood houses. After this point, they began building back businesses using the limited resources available and – often – sharing working spaces. As the local government worked to rezone the district to prevent successful rebuilding, Greenwood attorneys worked from tents to fight to retain the community’s autonomy.

An area of interest to anthropologists is the impact of generational trauma. We use the term “generational trauma” to refer to the long-term impacts experienced by future generations of individuals who faced extreme violence. When family members are injured, abused, or killed, the psychological and financial impacts can be passed down through many generations. The Tulsa Massacre is an example of this and Odewale’s research relies on archeological evidence to closely examine how the descendants survived and continued life in the face of such extreme loss.

Odewale argues that archeological fieldwork can actually serve as a form of restorative justice (a form of justice that focuses on rebuilding and rehabilitation rather than criminal punishment). As the Tulsa Massacre left thousands homeless and without means of income, the generational impact of survivors and family members is likely substantial but largely unstudied. The work of Odewale and her colleagues paints a picture of the crimes and destruction committed against the Greenwood community of 1921 as well as their resilience.

While Odewale’s archeological work focuses on the historical events surrounding 1921, she argues that modern events impact the public’s understanding of historical racial violence. In her publication, “The Future is Now: Archaeology and the Eradication of Anti-Blackness” Odewale argues that public outrage in response to George Floyd’s murder primed academics and researchers to receive more funding and prominence for research that unveils other accounts of racist violence (Odewale 2020). As the public discussion surrounding racial violence and justice evolves, so does the field of archeology.

When we consider the political context that impacts research today, we are led to reconsider how the political contexts of the past may have impacted the data produced by past archeologists. Specifically, as Odwale’s research is impacted by the modern political climate, her work also pushes anthropologists and archeologists to recognize the extent to which the imperialistic and colonial movements of early anthropology influenced the way that fieldwork was conducted and understood throughout the beginning of our field (Odewale 2020).

Odewale’s team produces digital mapping of the historical trauma that centers around the Greenwood district. In recent generations, the area has changed a great deal causing the need to reconstruct through the WebGIS portal with evidence of collected maps, photos, census documentation, and other archived files that can assist in creating a 3-dimensional map of the pre-1921 Greenwood district. This project is known to be the “first systematic excavation in Greenwood and the first excavation in Tulsa by a Black archaeologist”,

Alicia Odewale is the first individual to graduate with a doctorate’s degree in the field of Anthropology and the first graduate of color to receive a master’s at the University of Tulsa in the Museum of Science and Management. Among her equity-minded priorities, Odewale recruits diverse groups of students to explore and critically examine history through Anthropological and Archeological lenses.

Odewale describes her work as “diversifying the field of archaeology and academia” for future generations of students. Among her many projects, Odewale produced “The Tulsa Syllabus” which offers essential guidance to instructors looking to discuss the massacre in their classrooms.

1.3 Mark Hanna Watkins: Linguist

Written by Corey Blatz and Amanda Zunner-Keating. Edited by Lara Braff and Travis DuBry.

When considering what is and is not anthropologically valuable, it is imperative to look beyond the status quo. Oftentimes in social sciences researchers will gravitate towards comfortable, well-researched topics. When this happens, anthropology benefits greatly from individuals willing to question what may be seen as standard, exploring the unexplored, or even taboo. Innovation, creativity, and reverence for all branches of humanity keeps the lifeblood of the studies of people and their languages alive.

As a leading scholar within anthropology and sociology, linguist Mark Hanna Watkins played an important role throughout his career in conveying foundational criteria that transformed anthropology’s understanding of language. Watkins was the first American to publish a grammar on African language, as well as a pioneer in the creation of college African Studies programs (Wade-Lewis, 181).

Focusing on African languages, Watkins’ doctoral dissertation, “A Grammar of Chichewa: A Bantu Language of British Central Africa,” was renowned as the first book on African grammar and intonation written by an American. Having previously worked with Indigenous languages of North and Central America, Watkins existed in a primarily white professional environment that saw a great deal of other languages as “primitive”. More than anything, Watkins’ goal was to highlight the complexities and cultural significance of languages that had been completely dismissed by his colleagues. Wakins analyzed not only the grammar and syntax of multiple African languages, but also examined the ways they were used within their specific cultural environments.

One particular area of interest for Watkins was the morphology of Central African languages, recognizing many traits within them such as tonal shifts and unique sounds. The groundbreaking work Watkins completed on Central African languages during a time where there were virtually no available studies on the subject created a door for future anthropologists to step through. Watkins continues to be frequently cited to this day, for his comprehensiveness as well as his authentic research.

Watkins earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology in 1930 and 1933 respectively from The University of Chicago. Watkins was notably one of the first African Americans to obtain a doctorate in the field of Anthropology, leading him to spearhead a significant amount of previously unexplored territory within the cultural studies of African linguistics and society. Throughout his career, Watkins broke ground time and time again, despite setbacks in receiving funding through much of his career.

Watkins went on to become a Professor of Anthropology at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he saw the nation’s very first African Studies program come to fruition in 1943. Following his time at Fisk University, Watkins began his tenure at Howard University, where he served as the head of the Sociology department while teaching classes in both sociology and anthropology. The work Watkins curated throughout his lifetime provided pivotal considerations within the realm of social sciences. Before “A Grammar of Chichewa”, the field of linguistics did not recognize African language as worthy of academic consideration. His life and individuality distinguish him as not just a pioneer but also an inspirational figure for future leaders in academia. 

1.4 Kimberleigh Tommy: Biological Anthropologist

Written by Arlene Rodriguez. Edited by Jeanelle Uy, Jessica Proctor, and Amanda Zunner-Keating

Understanding how, when, and why only humans are bipedal has long been the focus in paleoanthropology. Bipedalism (the ability to walk on two legs) is considered to be the hallmark characteristic of the human lineage, essentially, the original evolutionary trait that separates modern humans and our ancestors from the ape lineage.  The earliest bipedal ancestors date back 4 – 6 million years ago, however, the earliest bipeds retained the ability locomote in the trees in addition to a bipedal posture when standing on branches to reach higher hanging fruit as well as when coming down to travel bipedally on the ground (Postural Feeding Hypothesis by Kevin Hunt 1994).  Due to the necessity to practice multiple forms of locomotion (movement) , the earliest bipeds display a mosaic anatomy, meaning that some anatomical traits indicate adaptations for arboreal locomotion (such as longer arms and curved finger bones) and other features that are adapted for bipedal walking and running (longer femurs angled inward towards the knee, bowl-shaped pelvis and a big toe in-line with the other toes).  Paleoanthropologists will focus on certain aspects of the skeleton when determining locomotion patterns for that species, essentially whether the species was quadrupedal, bipedal, or a combination of several locomotor patterns.  They will look at the position of the foramen magnum (where the spinal column connects to the skull),  the shape and orientation of the ilium and ischium (the bones that make up the pelvis), the length and angle of the femur (thigh bone), and the position of the hallux (big toe).

Kimberleigh Tommy studies this through her research with micro-CT images as well as studying “the lower limbs of the body such as the pelvis, leg, and ankle bones of living humans, primates, and fossil hominins, or extinct members of the human lineage, found in South Africa (Ntuli, M.,2021). Tommy’s research focuses on the evolution and biomechanics of bipedalism, that is the mechanical laws concerning the movement and structure of living organisms. Tommy uses the high-resolution micro-CT images to comprehend how bones react to different conditions based on how an animal navigates in its ecosystem.

Tommy’s research on Trabecular bone properties in the ilium of the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age Border Cave 3 Homo sapiens infant and the onset of independent gait has provided new information on infant development regarding early H. sapiens of the Middle Stone Age of South Africa.  The pelvic girdle is a skeletal structure that is vital to the evolution of bipedal locomotion in humans.  The pelvis of a bipedal human is short, broad and bowl-shaped, whereas the pelvis of a quadruped (such as a chimpanzee) is long, narrow and the ilium flares outward.  The pelvic girdle is made up of the two os coxa and the sacrum and coccyx.  Each os coxa is then further composed of three fused bones, the ilium, ischium and pubis.  The ilium is the top half of each os coxae that has adapted to be short and broad and oriented laterally to form the overall bowl-shaped structure of the pelvis of obligate (full-time) bipeds.  Additionally, the bones of the pelvis are not entirely fused in juveniles.  The iliac crest (the top ridge of the ilium) does not completely fuse until approximately 15 years old.

Tommy’s research examines the trabecular structure, the lattice-like bone that exists in infants and juveniles before these bones completely fuse to form the adult ilium. Tommy’s article is  the “first comparative evaluation of trabecular structure in the ilium of the Border Cave 3 (BC3) infant. The importance of early developmental stages is emphasized by the rate of remodeling in bones. Since most bone mass is completed by early adulthood, remodeling is much higher in infants and juveniles than in adults. The trabecular structure in the ilium of the BC3 infant was quantified and analyzed. “The comparative ontogenetic sample (n=25) analyzed in this study was selected from the Raymond Dart Collection of skeletal remains from University of Witwatersrand”. Micro-CT-scans of the os coxae of BC3 and the comparative human sample were completed then aligned to create an image stack. Then, each image stack was aligned and any stack consistent to an ilium was imported into the program “Avizo Lite v. 9.0 where a 3D isosurface was produced and subdivided into multiple Volumes of Interest (VOI)”. VOI’s were “associated with anatomical reference points and served as the basis for analysis”. Tommy’s research shows that mechanical stimulation of the lower limbs could be the reason for the “strong organization of trabeculae in the chiasma region”. It can be presumed that mechanical loading will increase once an infant accomplishes walking independently. This could lead to the alteration of internal bone structure responding to “ground reaction forces and muscle activation during gait”. More specifically, when bipedal gait is achieved “trabeculae reorient in the direction of the loading experienced, increasing degree of anisotropy (DA), which results in increasingly more, thicker, and anisotropic trabeculae.” Tommy’s assessment of a previously unstudied African population provides “general conclusions about the ontogeny of trabecular architecture in the ilium”.

In 2019, Tommy was part of a team that conducted a study on the Morphology of the Homo naledi femora from Lesedi. Tommy’s research “offers new and valuable insights into the anatomy and variation of the bone in Homo naledi.”

Homo naledi is a newly discovered species categorized within the genus Homo.  The recent discovery of the Homo naledi fossils has been revolutionary to the field of paleoanthropology and has challenged views on the course of human evolution.  We now know that several archaic hominin species existed during the Middle Paleolithic period, dating from 300,000 – 30,000 years before present.  Homo naledi is considered to be somewhat of an enigma due to the mosaic (mixture) of primitive and derived features in addition to an unexpected recent date range (336,000 – 225,000 years before present) for these fossil specimens, excavated from the Dinaledi chamber deep within the cradle of human-kind in South Africa. Based upon the primitive anatomy and relatively small cranial capacity, it was expected that these fossils would date within a similar range to other early members of genus Homo, between 2.5 – 1.8 million years ago.

There was initially some disagreement within the field regarding whether or not these fossil remains from the Dinaledi chamber belonged to an australopithecine, a genus that existed between 4 – 1 million years ago, or to genus Homo, a genus the originated approximately 2.5 million years ago.  The fossils were categorized as genus Homo based upon specific features of the crania, such as a more rounded, globular shape and decreased postorbital constriction.  While the shape of the Homo naledi crania is characteristic of early members of genus Homo, the cranial capacity is small, around 450 – 550 cc’s, which is within the range of late australopithecines and early members of genus Homo.  The postcranial anatomy of Homo naledi is far more primitive, similar to the earlier genus, the australopithecines.  The pelvis is mosaic, some features indicating bipedal locomotion and other features indicating a retention of arboreal locomotion.  The pectoral (shoulder) girdle is adapted for flexibility and the phalanges (finger bones) are long and curved for locomotion in the trees, suggesting that Homo naledi retained these features from a more primitive, ape-like ancestor.   These fossils were originally discovered by cavers Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker within the Dinaledi chamber.   The Rising Star Chamber was then further excavated by Lee Berger, Pedro Boshoff and a team of six women paleoanthropologists, Hannah Morris, Mariana Elliott, Becca Peioxotto, Alia Gurtov, Lindsay Hunter, and Elen Feuerriegel, who became famous as the “underground astronaut”s. The femora of H. naledi are “quantitatively and qualitatively compared to multiple extinct hominin femoral specimens, extant hominid taxa, and, where possible, each other.” The femur is a skeletal element that was crucial to the evolution of bipedal locomotion in humans. Bipeds have a longer femur that angles medially inward. The angle of the biped femur is an adaptation to center the lower limbs under the body and near the midline to allow for improved balance during bipedal walking and running. The Lesedi femora are structurally similar to the Dinaledi femora with only a few traits of unknown significance. “The Lesedi distal femur and mid-diaphysis preserve anatomy previously unidentified or unconfirmed in the species”. These femora are consistent with functional interpretations of lower limbs belonging to the H. naledi and assume they belonged to a species adapted for long-distance walking and running. Although a “mediolaterally-elongated depression in the superior aspect of the neck and two associated parallel ridges of bone are unique to H. naledi”, the femoral morphology is consistent with a “fully bipedal gait”. That also includes the rest of the Dinaledi lower limb material components. Tommy’s research demonstrated that the Lesedi distal femur and mid-diaphysis show a set of Homo-like features. When compared to other hominin femora, the values obtained from Lesedi femur coincide the most with the Dinaledi femora values. H. naledi has a long femoral neck like early members of the genus Homo. However, “absolute femoral neck length largely overlaps with members of Australopithecus.” Every new finding carries a functional and/or taxonomic association. For example, there is evidence that H. naledi was capable of fully extending the knee because of the presence of a subtrochlear hollow. Another feature that supports H. naledi as bipedal is the anteriorly expanded patellar surface, which is characteristic of the genus Homo. “Overall, the results presented here support the functional interpretation of the H. naledi lower limb as belonging to a species adapted for long-distance walking, and perhaps running”. Tommy hopes to motivate and encourage future studies of trabecular modeling across many different human populations.

In the early 1900s, South Africa was overwhelmed with racial segregation and white supremacy. By 1948, Apartheid had been adopted, which led to the separation of black South Africans from the white population. The government created this separation so they could claim that there was no Black majority. To reduce their political power, they divided black South Africans along tribal lines. That reduced the possibility that the Black community would come together and create a unified organization or government of their own. Eventually, the government forcibly removed Black South Africans from their homes if they were in what the government considered a “white” area. All the people who were displaced from their homes were put into areas called Bantustans, which were eventually riddled with poverty. In 1994, a democratic party was elected then apartheid finally came to an end.

Because of the country’s history, research on the paleosciences is often published in English. African paleoanthropology research is published mainly in Euro-centric/US-centric channels and often not in South African scholarly journals. Tommy is working hard to change this and make it accessible for locals. Tommy has helped translate paleoscience research into indigenous languages, created educational resources that were used in museums and classrooms and encouraged important and uncomfortable conversations regarding the history of this field of science (Subramoney, T., 2021). Kimberleigh Tommy is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Human Variation and Identification Research Unit at the School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand. In 2018, Tommy obtained her Master of Science (MSc) degree with distinction (and no corrections) from the University of the Witwatersrand, specializing in paleoanthropology.

As a first-generation student, Tommy can relate to the hardships and financial burdens of the education system. “It is hard to dream of something when you have never seen people like you in those positions,” she said (Ntuli, M.,2021). Once she grasped how valuable the fossil record is in South Africa, Tommy made it her duty to ensure that young students, especially women of color, had a connection to the fossil heritage and were not excluded from paleoanthropology and the career opportunities in the field.

Navigating a field that is dominated by white males has not been easy for Tommy. Having to deal with racism and sexism left her with imposter syndrome that filled her with doubt about her talent and achievements. However, she used this to motivate herself to spread awareness about cultural heritage to create a shift and encourage girls to pursue a career in a STEM field. In 2017, Tommy was ranked in the Top 20 Postgraduate writers in South Africa by Science Today. In 2019 she was chosen as a postgraduate blogger for the South African Young Academy of Sciences (SAYAS). That same year she was also chosen to be a Fellow in Black Women in Science (BWIS). In 2020 she was awarded the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science South African National Young Talents Program. Kimberleigh Tommy’s goal is to eventually bridge the gaps between society and science.

1.5 Gayatri Reddy: Cultural Anthropologist

Written by Alexandra Zysman, Lindsay Donaldson, and Amanda Zunner-Keating. 

Cultural anthropologists study humans with a “nature and nurture” framework in mind. Because we are interested in humans as both advanced primates and highly intelligent beings with complex cultures, anthropologists want to know why and how we determine who is male, female, man, woman, heterosexual, homosexual, or somewhere in between. And, we seek to understand what these categories mean to us as a species. Therefore, anthropologists examine gender, sex, and sexuality as fluid, socially constructed concepts.

In other words, human beings created these ideas and they are constantly changing. Many people assume that a person’s gender is always the same as their sex. But anthropologists know that this is not the case. Gender is defined by anthropologists as “the cultural construction of whether one is female, male, or something else” (Kottak 180), whereas sex refers to “the different biological and physiological characteristics of males and females, such as reproductive organs, chromosomes, hormones, etc.” (World Health Organization). The ways we express our gender may be different from the sex we are assigned at birth. We also know that “sex” is a very complicated term. Humans have varying levels of hormones, numbers of reproductive organs, and variations of chromosomes in their bodies. Ultimately, sex does not always fit neatly into two categories.

Humans express gender in many forms. Some women wear pants, while others strictly wear dresses. Some groups fashion their gendered clothing using animal skins or animal products while other groups are culturally forbidden from using these materials. Gender, and sex, then, change when we look at humans as an intelligent species. Humans become even more complicated when we consider how someone’s race, ethnicity, or religion influence their gender and/or sex.

Across many human cultures, more than two gender identities exist. In Southeast Asian culture, a gender group called “Hijras” are considered to be a third gender. Anthropologist Gayartri Reddy’s research illustrates how human identities change, intersect, and evolve. Reddy has made significant discoveries into the construction of sex and gender while studying Hijras of Southeast Asia and across the globe.

Hijras are gender non-conforming individuals, they are most often assigned male at birth. Like all gender groups, Hijras are diverse. Consider some of the characteristics found among this group:

• Sometimes Hijras are born intersexed (a person who is born with either/both male or female characteristics or neither male or female characteristics).
• Sometimes Hijras become eunuchs. This surgery is completed to varying degrees, there are many types of surgeries that a Hijra might opt for while some don’t have any surgery at all.
• Sometimes Hijras have no genital variation at all, there is no genital requirement to be a member of this community

Culturally, Hijras are viewed as neither male nor female but, rather, as their own, third gender. Anthropologists use the term “third gender” to refer to a cultural view of a gender that is not part of the Euro-American binary construct. In other words, we use the term “third gender” when more than two genders exist in a culture.

Hindu culture views the divine as both male and female at the same time. So, in order to become close to the nature of the divine, a person can engage in both male and female characteristics. Because Hijras embrace both sets of characteristics, they typically perform at auspicious occasions/celebrations as good luck in order to bring blessings to the community.

Hijras will sometimes exaggerate their behaviors by acting “extra” feminine (swaying walk, burlesque performances). When employed, hijras are able to take jobs held by both males and females without being restricted to the jobs of only one gender. And, hijras will typically change their names to a female name.

Gayartri Reddy, associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois, is one of the most significant and noteworthy anthropologists of her time. Her main areas of study are Queer and Gender studies of East Asian people in the United States, with a focus on how diverse identities exist in different social contexts.

Reddy conducted fieldwork in Hyderabad, India, where she explored what she calls the “Shifting Contexts of ‘Thirdness’” among hijras in the region. Hijras are historically members of Indian society, although they now live in several locations around the world. Hijras are considered neither men nor women or sometimes men who become women by voluntary castration. Their existence in Hindu mythology dates back to early medieval texts from the first century CE. Before British control of India in the 19th and 20th centuries, Hijras were socially accepted in mainstream Indian society.

Reddys’ work is aimed to make a larger impact beyond academia. Gaining a deeper understanding of the existence of third genders across the globe has the potential to influence public policy about queer identities in the United States and Southeast Asia while also advancing anthropological theory.

As a cultural anthropologist in the 21st century, Reddy has taken the initiative to base her research on the concept of intersectionality, especially when it pertains to sexuality, ethnicity, and gender. “Intersectionality” refers to the interconnected ways that our social groups like race, gender, religion, or ethnicity shape, overlap, and intersect with larger institutions and systems. This connection often leads to discrimination or disadvantages for people who have varying intersections of minority group membership. Black women, for example, have different experiences from white women, while both have different experiences when compared to white men. At the same time, poor white men may also have various intersections of race, class, and gender that are different from wealthy white men. Intersectionality offers a new approach to understanding social inequality, as the approach highlights the interaction between multiple social identities and systems.

By embracing intersectionality, Reddy has recreated her teaching style, as well as her research, in order to focus on cultural identity through the lens of the queer male Indian community in the United States. Reddy’s 2005 ethnography, With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India, Reddy “interrogates the contours of cultural belonging through the paradoxical dialectic of ‘alienation and intimacy’.” Reddy’s research examines the concept of a “third sex.” Reddys’ ethnographic work rejects stereotypes that are placed among the hijras in India with her claim that hijras’ gender performance falls within a much too narrow understanding of the subsection between gender and sexuality. Reddy asserts that society glosses over the social difference among hijra groups, instead of properly broadening their sexuality in terms of religion, class, and race in India and other South Asian countries.

Her research is funded by the Social Science Research Council, and has become an entirely new ethnography, entitled “Queer Borders: Constructions of South Asian (male) Queer Identities in the U.S.” This ethnography offers an intimate understanding of her focus, as it offers a provocative investigation of sexual/social differences among gender identities in India. Reddy redefines their meaning and instead refers to them as “individuals who occupy a unique, liminal space between male and female, sacred and profane.” Reddy assigns hijras a religious and spiritual definition, in which hijras are actually people who sacrifice their assigned gender at birth (in some cases, they sacrifice their genitalia) to a goddess as a ritual that will bestow upon them the power to spread fertility among newlyweds and other couples, along with their children. While they are respected in Indian society, hijras are also stigmatized because their sexuality is fluid.

Chapter 1 Bibliography

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