India's Supreme Court recognises transgender people as a third gender. What say you?

Seems kinda bassackwards when India just re-criminalized gay sex in December and now grants equal rights to 3rd gendered persons???

@Cruiser Question regarding ^^. If you’ve had an operation to change your gender, is it then legal to have sex with your original gender? Or is it still illegal? Confusing.

@Juels…sorry I have no clue but I also seriously doubt these 3rd gendered people have had any operations as most seem to be poor people living on the streets who can ill afford a sex change operation.

True.. Was just curious how the law worked under those circumstance.

I like this better.

I do wish it said “intersex” instead of hermaphrodite, but it is intended to be comical.

It’s similar to protections we are enacting in California, especially in schools. I am, in general, in favor of protections for vulnerable people who are facing situations they did not choose.

It is a humane decision by the Supreme Court.The hijras are ridiculed by the society and not given employment and education. The only option they had was begging. Finally they got their identity.

Thanks for the reminder, @Smitha. Some background here in this short clip from a Stephen Fry’s documentary Out There.

You’re welcome @dappled_leaves. There was a documentary named Bombay Eunuch contemporary India which takes us deep into the world of the hijras.

If you want my honest opinion, I have to say the world has gone nuts.

I am happy that this has been recognised, many transgendered people in India do not wish for complete gender reassignment but instead prefer to be identified as neither male nor female. That’s not so common in the west. So now they have legal protection but educating the general public into treating them as something less than dirt will be harder.

Now they need to repeal the anti-homosexuality laws.