A study on the representation of Indian trans women through text, media and oral narratives: identity, challenges and developments

Abstract

In Indian society, trans women are considered auspicious people with special spiritual powers (Srinivasan and Chandrasekaran, 2020; Goldman, 2017). Despite their cultural significance, they face social exclusion and systemic discrimination from family, school, college, and workplace daily (More, 2021; Srivastava, 2023; Badgett, 2014). Many of them are abandoned by their families at a young age due to the social taboos for gender non-conformity (More, 2021). However, in some regions, trans women’s presence is considered sacred (Revathi, 2010), and the result does not translate into social or economic inclusion. As a result of being denied education, formal employment and healthcare, many of their choices are being beggars and sex workers (Chakrapani et al., 2018; Vijayakumar et al., 2019). This exclusion is compounded by a lack of understanding of society, which prevents access to rights that other genders enjoy, such as housing, legal protection from abuse, etc. It often leads trans women to face verbal, emotional, sexual, physical, and financial abuse and discrimination (Bhattacharya, 2022; Puri and Sandhu, 2024). This complex dynamic of rejection shapes and reshapes trans women’s representations and identities in various narratives such as literature, cinema, digital media, archives, and so on.