Title : Structures of domination and intersectional identities: A study of trans* persons health outcome in Prayagraj city, India
Abstract:
Transgender is an umbrella term that emerged in the early 2000s in India and became representative of many forms and subcultures of gender non-conforming identities. It is used to describe a wide range of identities that cross or transcend culturally de ned categories of gender and includes but is not limited to transgender women (male-to-female transgender individuals), transgender men (female-to-male transgender individuals), transsexuals, and subcultural groups such as Hijra, Kinnar, Aravani, Aruvani, and Jogappas. The identity of a transgender individual is not in isolation and is constitutive of one’s social, cultural, political, and economic identities which may be dynamic and fluid in nature, interacting with each other and with the surrounding social forces in the society resulting in a marginalized social position. Depending upon one’s social position in society, the health outcomes and the lived experiences of transgender people vary significantly. The Transgender health outcomes as a result are shaped by the interaction of multiple identities of a transgender person (gender, caste, class, sexual orientation) with the co-existing and overlapping structures of domination in the form of prejudiced and discriminatory institutions such as law, healthcare, and family, where the historical baggage of colonialism, the hegemony of cis-genderism and heteronormativity remain salient. By using in-depth interviews, observation methods, and incorporating the intersectionality framework, the study aims to explore the interaction of these overlapping structures with transgender individuals in their day-to-day lives and how this interaction results in varied health outcomes in the city of Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh
