We’ve sometimes blogged about the Pakistani TV host, Begum Nawazish Ali, a drag queen who hosts a variety show on Pakistani TV. 
Now Tamil TV (thanks, Shalini and Literary Safari) will have something similar, in Rose Venkatesan, who is not merely in drag for the TV show, but actually transgendered (meaning, she identifies as a woman socially):
“The sari is the most flattering garment,†he added, as he touched up her makeup minutes before the cameras started rolling. “It disguises manly shoulders, takes attention away from a masculine neck.â€
A complex procedure even for experienced hands, the process of tying a sari is particularly hard for Rose, who was raised as a boy, and used to be known as Ramesh Venkatesan. Her mother never taught her the skill and refuses to see her wear one. Even so, the outcome was flawless.
When it is broadcast on Vijay television to an audience of up to 64 million people in the southern state of Tamil Nadu later this month, “Ippadikku Rose†(“Yours, Roseâ€) is expected to cause a sensation, introducing India’s first transgender celebrity to television. (link)
I like the bit about the sari as a flattering garment for transgendered women (will have to keep that in mind…).
Rose has, I gather from the rest of the article, always been effeminate (and I mean that non-pejoratively), though she’s only ‘become’ a woman in the past four years. She has a degree in biomedical engineering (!) from Louisiana Tech:
Rose said attitudes were no less hostile in parts of the United States, where she had spent three years studying at Louisiana Tech University. “There, people were aggressively homophobic,†she said. “America is very hypocritical when it comes to its stand on sexual minorities. Historically, India was very progressive about this until the British came and imposed a Victorian sense of morality, which still remains.†(link)
Interesting — a slightly different twist on the narrative we might have expected (i.e., where someone who doesn’t fit in in India finds a measure of liberation and acceptance abroad). In Louisiana, Rose encountered homophobia; in Chennai, she will be a star.
(See Ennis’ post below for video clips of both the Begum and Rose.)
Begum Nawajish Ali has a talk show on an Indian channel 9x now, more details here.
This jibes with the experience of a gay friend in Delhi. He started his undergrad studies at a faux ivy school in Lousiana and quit after a year, after persistent harrassment and social glass ceilings. The college rag and radio station made life difficult for him as well. His amrikan experience ended with a suicide attempt. Many years later he is a happy, successful journalist in Delhi now.
I caught one of Nawazish Ali’s interviews on Sunday Indian TV here in NYC (never quite sure which channel, they seem to shunt it around), of a general in the Pakistani army, juxtaposed with an artist from New York. The result was slightly cringe-worthy, including evident patriarchy, misogyny (the general pats Ali on the head and says “vimen like strong military men”) and other assorted weirdness.
Good on Rose, hope she keeps it real.
well, many hindu gods/goddesses are transgendered or have no gender (or can transform from male to female and vice versa); also the reporter is correct in noting that the “transgendered” get quite a lot of respect in hindu mythology.
apropos the “aggressive” nature of homophobia in louisiana, i think she means that though, being transgendered, you may be shunned in india,you are less likely to be physically threatened or endangered (i don’t know how far this is true though, i’m just guessing what she means). also her experiences would have been different had she gone to school, say, in san fransisco or new york (even a city like atlanta in the south), rather than the deep south (i know atlanta counts as deep south, but it is actually quite different from most other southern towns).
I can’t help mentioning about another such person – Narthaki Nataraj, who is a leading current-day Bharatanatyam dancer. This year, in March, she is going to be dancing at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. Interestingly, her partner is Shakthi, also transgendered.
As the NY Times article makes clear – life hasn’t exactly been rosy for Rose in Chennai. She may become a star, but let’s not discount the oddity/freak-show-spectacle factor in her subsequent popularity.
While Rose herself seems to see the TV show as an opportunity to gain broader acceptance and as a platform to inform and educate, I’m pretty sure at least part of the network’s motivations is not to edify but to cash in. Whether this will be apparent in the promotion remains to be seen.
Also: Does anyone think Rose would have had a still rougher time in other cities – Delhi or Jaipur, for instance? I say this because, in my experience, there is greater leeway and fewer consequences (if any) for those who behave inappropriately with women in public.
🙂
Could it be that her grandmother was less influenced by Victorian/Modern mores than her mother? Score 1 for Bharath, 0 for India…
M. Nam
Transgendered or gay people find greater acceptance within certain traditional contexts. For instance in Chennai, the city paper News Today, reported on a gay festival that has been held at a kovil in North Madras for centuries (experts on the waybackmachine please help trace down the web page). All power to Rose and her TV show
Well, I am not surprised. The country which can give us Kamasutra and temples with idols in various sexual positions can’t be so prude deep within, not to mention its population. There are many scholars who believe that the conservativeness in the Indian society probably comes from Mughal purdah system (but then even Rajasthani Rajputs also have had purdah) and Victorian prudery. It is hard to generalize such things though for a society where many centuries survive next to each other.
‘Score 1 for Bharath, 0 for India’
Encore, Encore.
There is a huge amount of homophobia/trans-gender phobia in India. As everything else, people on the lower rungs of the class/caste ladder have to bear the brunt of it. Hijras are practically segregated into their community and are often beaten and raped with practically no recourse from the law. The only “careers” open to them are begging and prostitution. If I were a lower-middle class transgendered woman, India is the last place I would like to be.
There was a Bobby something (also a man) on a reality show Big Boss last year on Zee or Sony. He wanted to win the prize money to use for a sex change operation and lost in the 1st few rounds, he did some small movie roles as well. This Rose show looks like a big ratings ploy, people will tune in to check out what the fuss is all about. Plus her makeup and sari draping skills are ghastly like you would see her on a local train clapping and asking for money. The Begum looks classy and polished in contrast. How do they hide their adam’s apples so well and can they teach MAnn Coulter to do the same?
I would hit it…
err… wait a minute… she is a trans? WTF.. I would NOT hit it..
A couple of interesting books —
The man who was a woman (and other queer tales) by Devdutt Pattanaik. [limited preview] Same-sex love in India (readings from literature and history) by Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai. [limited preview].
Just in Mahabharata, there are at least eight incidences – 1)Bhangaswana 2)Shikhandi 3)Arjun as Brihannala 4)Aravan 5)Bhishma’s castration(Jain) 6)Suduymna/Ila 7)Rishyashringa+Shanta 8)Shamba’s crossdressing.
Except that everyone will agree on how India is spelled. Many will disagree whether it is Bharat or Bharath
Thanks for the clarification! I can’t tell you how worried I was there for a minute.
Hmm, an Indian in Louisiana who changed their given name to a Christian name so he could be more comfortable in their own skin? Where are the cries of “Sellout!”?
well if i was a trans i would hang out with other transes.. it’s possible she changed her given name for protection..
I enjoy shopping for saris, but not wearing them. And they are certainly not universally flattering! Props to Rose for her… courage. She sounds kind of awesome.
I was in Penang, Malayasia at the start of Navarathri this year and I went to one of the local devi koils for the first day puja…there were four transgendered Tamil girls, all decked out out in kanjeevarams, tons of jewerlry, mallipu in their hair, and no one actually seemed to have a problem with it! They participated in everything-touching the plate of flower offerings, aarthi, archanai etc…they seemed to enjoy the dances afterwards more than the rest of the crowd there too.
I couldn’t help but think that if they were to show up at the Flushing or Pittsburgh or Pearland or whatever other US temples, that the pujaris and the others assembled there wouldn’t be nearly as cordial…
But anyways, later that week I actually had a more in depth conversation with a few of them that spoke English-and their life is all but hunky dory-by and large, they’re looked down upon and don’t have many options other than working the streets. They’re harrassed by the cops quite often as well (at least according to what they say) It’s a pretty sad situation.
“sad situation” ? If you haven’t noticed that many parts of the world and the vast majority of people on the planet are in a “sad situation” becauase of poverty..
“sad situation” ? If you haven’t noticed that many parts of the world and the vast majority of people on the planet are in a “sad situation” becauase of poverty..
In the anecdote above what makes you think that they are walking the streets and rolling in wealth.
I like how he says the sari is a flattering garment. Compared to modern clothes it’s not flattering but if you compare it to tradional ethic clothing from other cultures the sari is very revealing and sexy..
I’m not sure that Indian homophobia can be blamed squarely on the British or Mughal influence, but it’s great to see healthier, more acceptant attitudes toward sex and sexuality in the desh.
Rose ain’t no Christian name, yo!
Kama Sutra is written from the male perspective, and as far as my research goes, was intended for the upper class royals and similarly highly educated folk (sanskrit literature). There are various theories on erotic temple sculpture, and some of them are very prudish indeed such as, “the outside walls of our temples represent the life we need to leave behind once we enter into the sacred interior of the holy space”.
From my readings of Vedic supplementary texts, I have not gleaned an extremely permissable society, especially not for women. I also have gleaned that covering of a woman’s hair (and possibly even the face) was something that possibly could have been existent in South Asia prior to the advent of Islam.
I think the combination of ancient Indian ideals in regards the behaviour of “chaste women” and the glorification of rishis and sages who were either lifelong celibates or eventual vanaprasthas and sanyasis at the end of their married life, as well as later Islamic and Victorian influences are definetly a part of the dysfunctions around women and sexuality we experience in India today.
Funny, when I see the issues that are being dealt with in India right now, I see a parallel in all of the religious groups that are Indian influenced here in the West, the ones I’m exposed to anyway.
While the West may have progressed, there is an element of backwardsness in many of us who have adopted Indian religions as our own. It is as if we substituted one set of dysfunctions for another, and in many cases, one set of healthy native functions for unhealthy, foreign dysfunctions.
The case for such is especially strong in ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness), yet I cannot say that my own sect is totally free either.
Issues regarding the place of women, sexuality, celibacy and transgenderism are also being tackled by us Westerners who have adopted some sort of an “Indian model” towards life.
The parrallels are striking.
The current rape and death of a young ISKCON girl in India by a local guy has really spurred some consciousness raising.
I missed out on the feminist revolution here in USA. But it looks like I’m just in time for India’s.
And make no mistake – religion, sexuality, celibacy, transgenderism, these are all feminist issues.
Can’t blame everything on “Victorian morality”. Attitudes towards transgendered people in different countries are more deep-rooted in their own cultures.