Are Third Sexed People Post-Gendered?
Despite their existence outside of the gender binary, the Two-Spirits, Hijra and Eunuchs can not be considered post-genderists. Unlike the post-genderists, the Two-Spirits did not choose their status. This is not the case for the Eunuchs and to some extent, the Hijra. Yet it is not self induction into a group outside of the binary that demarcates who is post-gendered. Rather it is the motivation behind said induction. The motivation of the Hijra and Eunuchs greatly differs from that of post-genderists. The post-genderists shed their roles as men and women due to either an innate feeling that they belong to neither category or a search for a greater level of equality. In comparison, the Hijra and Eunuchs took on their roles for over arching religious reasons. There is no documentation that a rejection of the gender binary influenced their decisions. While the Two-Spirits, Hijra and Eunuchs do not fall into the post-gender category, they are pertinent to the discussion of post-genderism. In order to understand the alternatives to the gender binary within western cultures it is important to examine cultures in which a binary does not exist.
