Voicing the Silence of “Taali” Through the Lens of Media: A Sociological Analysis

Abstract

 Indian society is based on hierarchical structure. There are different kinds of socio-economic, politico-religious and cultural hierarchies. But the biological hierarchy based on sex that exists in India reflects only on two sexes i.e. male and female. The stereotypical gendered roles functionalize males and females according to the Indian cultural pattern. But apart from these two gendered categories there exists one more category called “hijras”. Who are also known as “transgender” or now called as “third gender” which is completely non-existent in Indian society. As a result of this unrecognized identity they are marginalized, forgotten and deprived of their basic rights as a human being. Hence the present paper makes sociological analysis of the various aspects of discrimination faced by the transgender people in India through the released web series “Taali”. It also gives insight to the remarkable journey of a Transgender Social Activist in India and her relentless fight that carved the way for the recognition of the third gender on all official documents in India. The paper also aims to pose some suggestions to improve the status of transgender people in India not limiting it to only official documents but recognizing them as humans.

Keywords:- Biological hierarchy, Transgender, Discrimination, Stereotypical, Deprived, Marginalized.