Enactment of Gender and Performing Selves: A Study on Hijra Performativity

Abstract

‘Sex' is understood as ‘anatomically' and ‘biologically’ inherent in an individual and is mirrored through 'gender' and its signifiers. The contested binaries of male and female are associated with the perceptions of an individual's level of conformity to the vexed ideals of ‘masculinity' and ‘femininity', but a ‘trans' identity finds its expression outside these assigned gender dichotomous roles and find its expression in embodied and bodied practices. The aspects of masculinity and femininity are seen as ‘performative' which can be reflected through ‘sign vehicle' and ‘body idiom', the terms used by Sociologist Erving Goffman. Based on the Butlerian theory of ‘performativity of gender' and ‘materialization', this study pursues the question of hijra (trans woman) construction through the conceptual framework of ‘performance', ‘corporeal significations' and ‘appearance' which is linked to their gendered identity. The reading examines and critiques on the construction of hijra identity and further observes that in imitating the inveterate femininity their construction goes beyond the ascribed ‘feminine’ gender role. It engages with select hijra autobiographies namely, The Truth About Me (2010) by A Revathi, I Am Vidya (2007) by Vidya and Me Hijra, Me Laxmi (2015) by Laxmi, which provides narratives on distinct construction of hijra feminine identity. © Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association 2021.