Islamic Peril: Media and Global Violence Book

Very interesting ethnography about the hijras of India, the so-called "third-sex". I was very fascinated in the subject as there isn't really a perfect analogy in Western culture for them. They are biological men who dress like women and perform various procedures to "unman" themselves (sometimes). Only they aren't really like drag queens or transvestites or what have you over here. They are a culturally endorsed group who self-identify as Muslim and yet pray to a Hindu goddess and perform various rituals at weddings and such, where they bestow fertility upon the new couple. Only their traditional cultural roles are quickly vanishing, leaving them to other means in order to survive. They are mostly looked down upon in society, and mothers often use the threat that the hijras will abduct you to keep their kids in line.
Anyway, interesting subject. Reddy's investigation is certainly not without its flaws though. She focuses her entire study on a very small and particularly marginalized group of hijras, and makes grand assumptions about all of the thousands of hijras in India off this small sample. She also quickly glosses over several potentially interesting subjects, like the validity of the hijras past, or the political power that the hijra community is supposedly gaining.
So, that's it. i doubt to many of you are gonna read it, not exactly something you just pick up and read for the heck of it. It is pretty boring in parts. I'm impressed you even read this. How are you?