Re-thinking Gender Beyond the Binary in Disasters: Othering and Hybrid Identities of Hijras in India

Abstract

Diverse gender groups experience disasters in different and unequal ways. In disaster studies, gender is still often understood as synonymous to [cis]women. As a result, the experiences of individuals not conforming to the binary gender categories are often left out of the gendered analysis of disasters. Additionally, the Western classifications of gender diverse groups as LGBTIQA+ often do not align with gender identities in South Asia. Given this context, this chapter explores the experience of hijras, believed to be the oldest non-binary group in India, in disasters. It looks at how colonial legacies and local cultural contexts form the basis of their ‘othering’ in their everyday lives, which makes them vulnerable at the time of disasters. Further, the chapter delves into understanding the hybrid nature of their identities that provides hijras space to resist against the forces of othering in the form of their unique capacities.