The Hijra of India

The Hijra of India

Author: Al Preston May 16, 2025 Duration: 6:54

This episode is about the Hijra of India and the differing gender norms of India versus Western Europe.

Also, special guest, my cat Bella

Bibliography

Arondekar, Anjali. For the Record: On Sexuality and the Colonial Archive in India. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2009.

Cohen, Lawrence. “The Pleasures of Castration: The Postoperative Status of Hijras, Jankhas, and Academics.” Sexual Nature/Sexual Culture: The Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society (1995): 276-305.

Dutta, Aniruddha. “An Epistemology of Collusion: Hijras, Kothis and the Historical (Dis) Continuity of Gender/Sexual Identities in Eastern India.” In Gender History Across Epistemologies, edited by Donna R. Gabaccia and Mary Jo Maynes, 305-329. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2013.

Hinchy, Jessica. Governing Gender and Sexuality in Colonial India: The Hijra 1850-1900. Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Hinchy, Jessica. “Obscenity, Moral Contagion and Masculinity: Hijras in Public Space in Colonial North India.” Asian Studies Review 38 (2014): 274-294.

Hinchy, Jessica. “The Sexual Politics of Imperial Expansion: Eunuchs and Indirect Colonial Rule in Mid-Nineteenth-Century North India.” In Gender, Imperialism and Global Exchanges edited by Stephan Miescher, Michele Mitchell, and Naoko Shibusawa, 23-48. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2015.

Nanda, Serena. “Life on the Margins: A Hijra’s Story.” In Everyday Life in South Asia edited by Diane Mines and Sarah Lamb, 124-131. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2010.

Nanda, Serena. Neither Man nor Woman: The Hijras of India. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1990.

Preston, Laurence W. “A Right to Exist: Eunuchs and the State in Nineteenth-Century India.” Modern Asian Studies vol. 21 no. 2 (1987): 371-387.

Pushyamitra, M. “Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and Fundamental Rights: A Study.” International Journal of Law Management & Humanities 5 (2022): 1708-1716.

Sweet, Michael J. and Leonard Zwilling. “The First Medicalization: The Taxonomy and Etiology of Queerness in Classical Indian Medicine.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 3, no. 4 (1993): 590-607.


Al Preston hosts The Holiday Pride: A Pittsburgh LGBT+ Community Museum Podcast, a series that explores the rich and often overlooked history of the local queer community. This isn't a broad overview, but a deep, personal look at the stories, people, and places that have shaped Pittsburgh's unique LGBT+ identity. Each episode functions like an audio exhibit, drawing from the museum's archives and featuring conversations with community elders, activists, artists, and historians. You'll hear firsthand accounts of pivotal moments, from the early gathering places and the fight for civil rights to the vibrant cultural expressions that define the community today. The podcast aims to preserve these narratives, ensuring they are passed on with the nuance and dignity they deserve. It’s an educational journey that connects the past's struggles and triumphs directly to the present, offering listeners a profound sense of place and legacy. Tune in for a thoughtfully produced history podcast that honors where this community has been, providing essential context for understanding its ongoing story.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 51

The Holiday Pride: A Pittsburgh LGBT+ Community Museum Podcast
Podcast Episodes
The Pittsburgh Tavern Guild [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:10
Among the many bars that Pittsburgh once had, there was a coalition of a few of them that provided aid to each other and the wider Pittsburgh community.Sources:The Donny Thinnes Collection at the Heinz History Centerhttp…
Pittsburgh Gay Bars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:57
We've talked a lot about Pittsburgh's gay bars, now we'll go into detail about some of them!Sources:Pittsburgh Queer History ProjectNewspapers.comThe Heinz History Center's Library and Archives Pittsburgh OUT collection.
Pittsburgh Religious Spaces [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:49
Religion and queerness doesn't often go together, but here in Pittsburgh, there were and are many religious spaces for LGBT+ people who still feel a connection to their faith. More than one may expect!Sourceshttps://www.…
Oral History: Tim Ziaukas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:01
Tim Ziaukas was a founding member of Thursday Night Live, a gay organization that began as a way for gay men to meet each other outside of bars and became an organization focused on educating people about AIDS and raisin…
Pittsburgh's Legacy Organizations [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:58
Pittsburgh has some very old organizations that have supported and aided LGBT+ people for decades. You can find more about these organizations on their home pages which you can find links to on our resource page:https://…
Pittsburgh LGBT+ Laws [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:18
This episode features Pittsburgh's laws and ordinances focused on LGBT+ folks. Additionally, it features the most impassioned speech that the city's government has ever seen.Sources:https://rauhjewisharchives.org/entry/m…
Drag Pittsburgh [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:36
Pittsburgh's drag scene has a long history and wonderful performers! Thanks to the Pittsbrugh Queer History Project, we have some audio and videos from a number of Drag Performances at the city's gay bars. Be sure to che…
Dante 'Tex' Gill: Transgender Mobster [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:52
Dante 'Tex' Gill was the owner of multiple massage parlors in Pittsburgh and he won them from the mob after the parlor wars. Although he was caught eventually, he had a wild time as one of Pittsburgh's well known mobster…
Pittsburgh Black Pride [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:56
Take a look at Pittsburgh's Black Pride history and learn about the way the black queer community has celeberated itself.Sources:https://positivelypittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-pride-50-years-of-history/#:~:text=1973%3A%20Pi…
Thursday Night Live! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:31
Thursday Night Live (TNL) was a gay organization for white collar workers that turned into an AIDS activist group focused on education and providing support for those with AIDS.You can learn more at the Heinz History Cen…