un/desirable encounters at the intersections of caste, class and religion

Abstract

Tamil thirunangais (or hijras) emphatically claim that in thirunangai kinship networks there is no caste, class or religion, that individuals are accepted regardless of their birth family. This kinship network creates a space of desirable encounters where thirunangais can reorientate themselves to their community as well as the larger public. Gender identity is central to thirunangai lives, but it operates in a nexus of other forces. Devotional practices within and outside the kinship community provide a space for thirunangais to transgress hierarchical norms of gender, caste and class and construct authentic identities empowered by divine agency.