‘New’ Women
Trans Women, Hijras and the Remaking of Inequality in India

This intersectional feminist ethnography of trans women in India shows that new forms of gender identity can reinforce old inequalities.

Liz Mount (Author)

9781009343435, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 January 2025

207 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

'Mount's research on gender nonconforming (GNC) people, especially trans women, in Bengaluru takes us through NGO offices, queer pride marches, and photo exhibitions to offer an account of the growing divide between trans women and hijras. Through identity work and aspirations for upward mobility, the 'new' trans women not only distinguish themselves from their 'traditional' counterparts (hijras), but also uphold values of modesty and respectability often associated with middle-class women. Mount shows in rich detail how gender is central to constructing class differences in contemporary India.' Chaitanya Lakkimsetti

Recent global attention to transgender issues and new opportunities for trans people can appear as positive and progressive social change. 'New' Women challenges this assumption through an ethnography of emerging trans women and traditional gender non-conforming hijras in India. In many countries, people identify as either cisgender or non-cis identities like transgender and nonbinary. India is unique for its recognized, yet stigmatized, gender non-conforming hijras. This book explores changes in hijra groups due to economic liberalization and LGBTQ+ advocacy, particularly the rise of the trans woman. Liz Mount locates trans women within patriarchal and postcolonial histories that shape ideal womanhood in India. As trans women align themselves with middle-class, respectable (cisgender) womanhood, they distance themselves from hijras, perpetuating their exclusion. Ultimately, this intersectional feminist analysis shows that new forms of gender identity can reinforce old inequalities and what appears as progressive change for some trans people can marginalize others.

Introduction. 'Modern Girls': Conceptualizing the Trans Woman–Hijra Divide
1. 'New' Women and Old Hierarchies: Gender, Class, and Women's Opportunity
2. Sex Work versus Office Work: Gender Nonconforming Identities and Employment
3. Hijra Families Today: Social Change and 'Choice' for 'New' Women
4. 'You Can Do Whatever': Shifting Authority in Hijra Family Relationships
5. A Family Resemblance: Explaining Changes in Hijra Relationships
Conclusion: 'I am Not a Hijra': Opportunities, Inequalities, and the Perils of Inclusion
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Gender studies, gender groups [JFSJ]