THIRD SEX DISCRIMINATION (CAUSE AND EFFECT)

When you hear the word 'discrimination' what comes first to your mind?. Discrimination is a sociological term referring to the treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group in consideration based solely on class or category. Discrimination is the actual behavior towards another group. I found some in the internet of the history of third sex.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Third gender in history”

Mesopotamia

- In Mesopotamian mythology, among the earliest written records of humanity, there are references to types of people who are not men and not women. In a Sumerian creation myth found on a stone tablet from the second millennium BC, the goddess Ninmah fashions a being "with no male organ and no female organ", for whom Enki finds a position in society: "to stand before the king". In the Akkadian myth of Atra-Hasis (ca. 1700 BC), Enki instructs Nintu, the goddess of birth, to establish a “third category among the people” in addition to men and women, that includes demons who steal infants, women who are unable to give birth, and priestesses who are prohibited from bearing children.In Babylonia, Sumer and Assyria, certain types of individuals who performed religious duties in the service of Inanna/Ishtar have been described as a third gender.They worked as sacred prostitutes or Hierodules, performed ecstatic dance, music and plays, wore masks and had gender characteristics of both women and men.In Sumer, they were given the cuneiform names of ur.sal ("dog/man-woman") and kur.gar.ra (also described as a man-woman).Modern scholars, struggling to describe them using contemporary sex/gender categories, have variously described them as "living as women", or used descriptors such as hermaphrodites, eunuchs, homosexuals, transvestites, effeminate males and a range of other terms and phrases.

Stone tablet from 2nd millennium BC Sumer containing a myth about the creation of a type of human who is neither man nor woman.

Egypt

- Inscribed pottery shards from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2000–1800 BCE), found near ancient Thebes (now Luxor, Egypt), list three human genders: tai (male), sḫt ("sekhet") and hmt (female).Sḫt is often translated as "eunuch", although there is little evidence that such individuals were castrated.

Indic culture

- References to a third sex can be found throughout the various texts of India's three ancient spiritual traditions — Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism — and it can be inferred that Vedic culture recognised three genders. The Vedas (c. 1500 BC – 500 BC) describe individuals as belonging to one of three separate categories, according to one's nature or prakrti. These are also spelled out in the Kama Sutra (c. 4th century AD) and elsewhere as pums-prakrti (male-nature), stri-prakrti (female-nature), and tritiya-prakrti (third-nature).Various texts suggest that third sex individuals were well known in premodern India, and included male-bodied or female-bodied people as well as intersexuals, and that they can often be recognised from childhood. A third sex is also discussed in ancient Hindu law, medicine, linguistics and astrology. The foundational work of Hindu law, the Manu Smriti (c. 200 BC – 200 AD) explains the biological origins of the three sexes: "A male child is produced by a greater quantity of male seed, a female child by the prevalence of the female; if both are equal, a third-sex child or boy and girl twins are produced; if either are weak or deficient in quantity, a failure of conception results."Indian linguist Patañjali's work on Sanskrit grammar, the Mahābhāṣya (c. 200 BC), states that Sanskrit's three grammatical genders are derived from three natural genders. The earliest Tamil grammar, the Tolkappiyam (3rd century BC) also refers to hermaphrodites as a third "neuter" gender (in addition to a feminine category of unmasculine males). In Vedic astrology, the nine planets are each assigned to one of the three genders; the third gender, tritiya-prakrti, is associated with Mercury, Saturn and (in particular) Ketu. In the Puranas, there are also references to three kinds of devas of music and dance: apsaras (female), gandharvas (male) and kinnars (neuter).The two great Sanskrit epic poems, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, also indicate the existence of a third gender in ancient Indic society. Some versions of Ramayana tell that in one part of the story, the hero Rama heads into exile in the forest. Halfway there, he discovers that most of the people of his home town Ayodhya were following him. He told them, "Men and women, turn back," and with that, those who were "neither men nor women" did not know what to do, so they stayed there. When Rama returned to from exile years later, he discovered them still there and blessed them, saying that there will be a day when they will rule the world.In the Buddhist Vinaya, codified in its present form around the 2nd century BC and said to be handed down by oral tradition from Buddha himself, there are four main sex/gender categories: males, females, ubhatobyanjanaka (people of a dual sexual nature) and pandaka (people of various non-normative sexual natures, perhaps originally denoting a deficiency in male sexual capacity).As the Vinaya tradition developed, the term pandaka came to refer to a broad third sex category which encompassed intersex, male and female bodied people with physical and/or behavioural attributes that were considered inconsistent with the sexual ideal of man and woman.

The Hindu god Shiva is often represented as Ardhanarisvara, with a dual male and female nature; Typically, Ardhanarisvara's right side is male, and left side female. This sculpture is from the Elephanta Caves near Mumbai.

Mediterranean culture

- In Plato's Symposium, written around the 4th century BC, Aristophanes relates a creation myth involving three original sexes: female, male and androgynous. They are split in half by Zeus, producing four different contemporary sex/gender types which seek to be reunited with their lost other half; in this account, the modern heterosexual man and woman descend from the original androgynous sex. Other creation myths around the world share a belief in three original sexes, such as those from northern Thailand.Many have interpreted the "eunuchs" of the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean world as a third gender that inhabited a liminal space between women and men, understood in their societies as somehow neither or both.In the Historia Augusta, the eunuch body is described as a tertium genus hominum (a third human gender),and in 77 BC, a eunuch named Genucius was prevented from claiming goods left to him in a will, on the grounds that he had voluntarily mutilated himself (amputatis sui ipsius) and was neither a woman or a man (neque virorum neque mulierum numero).Several scholars have argued that the eunuchs in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament were understood in their time to belong to a third gender, rather than the more recent interpretations of a kind of emasculated man, or a metaphor for chastity.The first Christian theologian, Tertullian, wrote that Jesus himself was a eunuch (c. 200 AD).Tertullian also noted the existence of a third sex (tertium sexus) among heathens: "a third race in sex... made of male and female in one."He may have been referring to the Galli, "eunuch" devotees of the Phrygian goddess Cybele, who were described as belonging to a third sex by several Roman writers.

2nd century Roman copy of a Greek sculpture. The figure is Hermaphroditus, from which the word hermaphrodite is derived.

Siberia

- Among the 19th century Chuckhi, the “soft men” (yirka-lául) were a category of biologically male shamans who adopted first female hairstyle, then female dress, and finally married males. They were hated and scorned but also feared by the rest of the Chuckhi, as they were considered to be much more powerful than other shamans (Price 2002, 302).The masculine gendered males who married the yirka-lául were not seen as 'third genders' but as 'men'.

The Americas

- The ancient Maya civilization may have recognized a third gender, according to historian Matthew Looper. Looper notes the androgynous Maize Deity and masculine Moon goddess of Maya mythology, and iconography and inscriptions where rulers embody or impersonate these deities. He suggests that the third gender could also include two-spirit individuals with special roles such as healers or diviners.Anthropologist and archaeologist Miranda Stockett notes that several writers have felt the need to move beyond a two-gender framework when discussing prehispanic cultures across mesoamerica,and concludes that the Olmec, Aztec and Maya peoples understood "more than two kinds of bodies and more than two kinds of gender." Anthropologist Rosemary Joyce agrees, writing that "gender was a fluid potential, not a fixed category, before the Spaniards came to Mesoamerica. Childhood training and ritual shaped, but did not set, adult gender, which could encompass third genders and alternative sexualities as well as "male" and "female." At the height of the Classic period, Maya rulers presented themselves as embodying the entire range of gender possibilities, from male through female, by wearing blended costumes and playing male and female roles in state ceremonies." Joyce notes that many figures of mesoamerican art are depicted with male genitalia and female breasts, while she suggests that other figures in which chests and waists are exposed but no sexual characteristics (primary or secondary) are marked may represent a third sex, ambiguous gender or androgyny.

Inca

- Andean Studies scholar Michael Horswell writes that third-gendered ritual attendants to chuqui chinchay, a jaguar deity in Incan mythology, were "vital actors in Andean ceremonies" prior to Spanish colonisation. Horswell elaborates: "These quariwarmi (men-women) shamans mediated between the symmetrically dualistic spheres of Andean cosmology and daily life by performing rituals that at times required same-sex erotic practices. Their transvested attire served as a visible sign of a third space that negotiated between the masculine and the feminine, the present and the past, the living and the dead. Their shamanic presence invoked the androgynous creative force often represented in Andean mythology." Richard Trexler gives an early Spanish account of religious 'third gender' figures from the Inca empire in his 1995 book "Sex and Conquest":It is true that, as a general thing among the mountaineers and the coastal dwellers [Yungas], the devil has introduced his vice under the pretense of sanctity. And in each important temple or house of worship, they have a man or two, or more, depending on the idol, who go dressed in women's attire from the time they are children, and speak like them, and in manner, dress, and everything else they imitate women. With them especially the chiefs and headmen have carnal, foul intercourse on feast days and holidays, almost like a religious rite and ceremony.

Illiniwek

- The natives of modern Illinois decided the gender of their members based on their childhood behavior. If a genetic male child used female tools like a spade or ax instead of a bow, they considered them berdaches.

For me , since then , there were people either men nor woman in their own perspective.There are just some people who don't accept it.

But were not blind to see how people treat the people who are in the third sex community,they are being discriminate,often leads that they are taken for granted,social exclusion.For me , even though im a girl i can feel and see what they were going through.They feel like that they don't fit anywhere; they have fear and discomfort.I have friends who are in third sex , and i have a cousin who was 'tomboy' , but I Love them and i accept it for that.

Another thing is why same sex marriage is not allowed in the Philippines.To my side and opinion, our country is a Christian dominant country in Asia. Same sex marriage is a term they use for a legally or socially recognized marriage between two individuals of the same sex. Popular now was Jon Santos a comedian and an impersonator revealed that he has been married for three years to an Italian American named West Stewart.In other country same sex marriage are being accepted and legalized. We Filipinos valued marriage a lot and respect it's meaning and it's purpose in the cycle of life.We Filipinos respect marriage a lot and that is why there is no law pertaining to divorce, but only annulment of marriage which is a long process, timely, and costly before it's approval.For me, Filipinos are trying to protect every family and same sex marriage would only destroy the culture of us pertaining to family.

A lack of acceptance and emotional support from family and friends often leads third gender people to have high incidence of depression,anxiety and substance abuse. Third gender youth in particular have been shown to have a higher rate of parental abuse,suicide, and attempted suicide. This lack of support at an early age is often compounded by the discrimination third gender people face as adults.

In our community it's normal for us that we see third sex in their own fashion and styles.Bakla wearing girls dresses, tomboy wears exactly what man and teenager guys wear. Third gender population are getting increase. Like what i heard in my gay friends, "Ang mga bakla wala namang mga matres pero dumadame. Ha,haha!". They are part of our society.

Third genders are socially and economically integrated into Filipino Society, and are considered an important part of society. The stereotype of a bakla is a parlorista,who works in a beauty salon.Some third gender works at office, or an artist like Mama Rene Salud, Ricky Reyes , and the owner of Aficionado Joel Cruz, a fashion model,a singer like Aiza Seguerra , a teacher, and jobs that male and female has.

In our government there is no ordinance or proposal anywhere in the Philippines from local government units that focused on the rights of gays and lesbians. They tend to forget them. They can help in elections too.

I search in the internet some group organization. Here are they:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“LGBT culture in the Philippines”

Filipino LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) organizations

PUP Kabaro — a leading gender equality activist organization at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Currently under the University based Partylist SAMASA

UP Babaylan — LGBT activist and support group based in the University of the Philippines - Diliman (Metro Manila)

Doll House - group for open-minded individuals based in the Ateneo de Manila University

ProGay — gay rights organization (Metro Manila)

Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network (LAGABLAB)

Can’t Live in the Closet — lesbian activist group (Metro Manila)

LeAP — Lesbian Advocates Philippines Philippine (Metro Manila)

Lunduyan ng Sining — Lunduyan ng Sining or Sanctuary of Art is duly registered lesbian arts organization that creates a venue to lesbians to showcase their art. It has produced a lesbian literary and art folio entitled "What These Hands Can Do" and regularly holds monthly music, film or art performances at Mag:net Katipunan, Quezon City.

IWAG — gay social support group (Davao City)

GAHUM — gay support and advocacy (Cebu City)

Rainbow Rights Project (R-Rights) — an NGO that serves as a legal & policy think tank dedicated to LGBT issues

Society of Transsexual WOMEN of the Philippines (STRAP) — Metro Manila

Order of St. Aelred — spiritual gay center (Metro Manila)

AKOD — Gay support group (Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology)

UTOG — union of truly organized gay

Gorgeous and Young (GAY) — Gay support group

Philippine Forum on Sports, Culture, Sexuality and Human Rights (TEAM PILIPINAS) — promoting human rights, sexual and gender diversity and equality through sports, culture and recreation (Philippines and global)

UPLB Babaylan — Los Banos student LGBT organization and support group at the University of the Philippines (Los Banos)which aims to promote gender equality within the university and among the student body, and beyond its immediate community. To further these goals, the organization holds activities such as PINK FLICKS, a film festival showing movies which revolve around many different gender issues; symposiums, educational discussions, and tie-ups with other LGBT organizations.

With greater public awareness, many people are becoming more supportive and understanding of their third sex friends, family and co-workers. :)