Third Gender

Third gender is a gender identity in which a person is neither a woman nor a man, nor androgynous. This term is often used in cultures, like many in South Asia, where another gender, in addition to woman and man, has been recognized. In many cases, third-gender identities will have a culturally specific name (e.g., hijra). Third gender may also be used to denote people who are not considered women or men for the purpose of social categorization or documentation. Typically, this terminology is used by/for transgender or intersex individuals as a form of social identification, although “intersex” relates specifically to anatomical or chromosomal conditions rather than a gender identity. Given that gender identity is foundational to the concept of gender in psychology and third ...