So, a perfectly normal human’s brain, body, and reproductive system can have different sexes.
Biological differences: There are 6 normal karyotypes – XY, XX, X, XXY, XYY, XXXY. All of these are categorized into Visual Differences of Sex Development (VDSD) & Non-Visual Differences of Sex Development (Non-VDSD).
Gender Identity(GI): It is the psychological sense of oneself as a male, female, gender-fluid or agender. Neurobiological studies of gender identity suggest, so far, that this can be the result of some hormonal activities at the prenatal phase which again is perfectly normal. The above-mentioned terms are umbrella terms that include around 30 different types of identities (as I know of, for now, but can be more) like androgynes, aporagenders, bigenders(2 Spiriteds), genderqueers, gender creatives, or Cisgenders like me.
Gender Expression(GE): It is how someone expresses oneself outwardly irrespective of their sex or GI. They can be masculine, feminine, androgynous or more. For example, a Butch is someone who identifies herself as a female but expresses masculine features and a Femme is someone whose GI and GE are both feminines.
Now about Trans: It is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of people whose GI and GE differs from their biologically assigned sex. A trans woman is a woman and a trans man is a man irrespective of their decisions to undergo surgery.
Sexual orientation(SO), Sexuality(Se) & Romantic Orientation(RO): SO is your preference for intimacy based on the GI or GE of the opposite person. You can be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, or Asexual.
“Se” is how you identify yourself sexually. Based on that you can be Androsexual, Gynosexual, Autosexual, Allosexual, Graysexual(umbrella), Demisexual, Fraysexual, Sapiosexual, Skoliosexual, Multi, Pan, or Omnisexual(+).
RO is how you are romantically involved within a relationship and what your emotional drives are. Your SO may or may not coincide with your RO. Based on this you can be Demiromantic, Autoromantic, Frayromantic, Aromantic, or more.
Gender Congruence: This is an ongoing process of a common desire for many. It is the feeling of harmony in our body, experiencing the comfort after naming our gender that adequately corresponds with our internal sense of who we are.
How to be respectful(in general)?: Start by asking the people you interact with, for their pronouns(not gender) before beginning any conversations. Use appropriate words, like some people prefer to use “erectile tissue” rather than “Penis” & “internal genitals” rather than “vagina”. Do not misuse your privileges. Start referring to” transitioning people” as “people pursuing congruence”. Change your terminology from ” sex reassignment surgeries” to “sex affirming surgeries”. Stop asking Trans people their deadnames, that’s disrespectful. They haven’t gone through hell just to be kept reminded of their past. Respect everyone’s privacy.
How to be an ally?: Ally is any Cis person who supports Trans-identities, challenges Transphobia, and willingly explores these biases within themselves. So, to be an ally, you have to stay updated with the evolving terms, be respectful (ref: above), introduce yourself along with your pronouns, use inclusive tones while initiating a conversation, avoid & challenge ignorant compliments like ” you are too pretty/handsome to be a trans.” Know your limits. The most important one is to accept your mistakes and learn from them. You are a human too.
So, here’s an XX-Cis (She/Her)-Hetero-Demisexual-Demiromantic-Gender congruent-Ally saying “Hello” to you.
Have a good day!
Here are a few links to the sources which can be used for further references.
भिडे आसमंती ध्वजा वैष्णवांची उभी पंढरी आज नादावली तुझे नाव ओठी, तुझे रूप ध्यानी जिवाला तुझी आस गा लागली जरी बाप साऱ्या जगाचा परि तू आम्हा लेकरांची विठू माऊली
If you have ever grooved to this song, “Mauli” by the famous Ajay-Atul Gogavale duo, you must have wondered what’s “Mauli”(if you are not someone who understands Marathi). And if you have not, I insist you listen to that song.
A charming dark-skinned youth in his extreme essence standing on a brick with his hands in akimbo position and winning hearts with his smile. Vithoba, Vitthal, or Panduranga residing at Pandharpura was originally a God for farmers, who gradually rose via being God of poet-saints to being one of the Supreme Lords. I tried to comprehend the concept. It’s the same overwhelming sentiment we Odias have for our Jagakalia (Lord Jagannath) where we consider him to be a family member with whom we can share our emotions. Now we must know why these cult Gods are considered as our own people and why a male God, Vitthal, is summoned as Mother. Yes, the Varkaris(devotees of Vitthala) fondly address him as Vithoba Mauli (Mother Vithoba).
We, humans, are extremely emotional beings. We feel happy when with our loved ones; sad if we lose someone near to us; guilty if we hurt someone; and angry if things do not happen as we had planned. Hence there is never a moment when we do not emote. And these emotions are highly influenced by the thousand years of cultural devotion and the idea of ” becoming the seeker to the finder”.
The Indian view of life moves from an infra-rational existence to a more rational existence, and further, towards a yet greater supra-rational existence and end-state of Truth, Bliss, Peace, and Beatitude. We seek divinity in our leader, to assist in this journey, who must have walked the same path and is ahead of us. These cult Gods have stories of the same sufferings and overcoming them and accepting everyone into their circumference without any discrimination. The whole idea revolves around the journey from darkness to light or finding shelter and peace of mind. And we make the idea of a safe shelter according to what we have perceived from our lofts. For some, this secure base can be the lover. For some, it’s a brother, and for some, it is the mother. Magically, this idea of bhakti heals our mental state and helps us calm down our anxieties. In those idols, with stories attached to them by our ancestors, we see the perfect person we need in our life who is capable enough to solve all our issues and understand us. This idea is inscribed so deep in us that even in our conscious state we reciprocate it(though knowing that it’s not possible). Consciousness is contagious, and psychic consciousness is more so. And it has been passed down for generations.
Book lovers can understand this as we tend to get attached to a character from the book who can never appear before us. But for us, he/she is the one who can understand our mental state. This is what has been cleverly done with idol worship. You need a point to concentrate your emotions without going nuts. And it actually healed people and made them find their own ways to tackle their issues without boosting their ego.
The roots of everything weren’t that bad after all. It’s people among us who utilized them against their own people.
What’s common between Greek and Hindu myths? Zeus and Indra, Icarus and Sampati, Hermes and Narada, Trojan War and Ramayan, even the concept of gay, transgender, or impotent Gods. And the difference? We got Gods and became blind, they got Gods and opened their eyes. We don’t even question their actions and they never saw them as just and merciful and dared to challenge their authority. Gods can be really weird with their own logic that doesn’t apply to us nor would they want to(if present). And Stephen Fry perfectly understands this brutal queerness of Greek Gods like the birth of Aphrodite( I wouldn’t get into the ball cutting part as that can be a spoiler).
Read this book as a part of #folkloredecember with @whatsshwereading and I wish I would have heard the audiobook first as reading the book and listening to Stephen Fry are two different experiences. I heard it yesterday after Swetha’s reco. So I will talk about the good and bad aspects of the reading part.
The title tag, “Greek Myths retold”, can be misleading. It’s not retelling, it’s what we already know and have been among us for quite some time. He talks about a small group of Gods that doesn’t include the bigger ones just like talking about Mahabharata and excluding Bharata and Shantanu. (But I understand that I have to read the next book.) If you are someone new to Greek mythology, you need to gather your knowledge before hopping on to Fry’s space. Relying on it for everything is like relying on modern retellings of Mahabharata for actual incidental information. It’s hard to impress with a retelling to someone who has gone through the actual scripts. At times I found the writing chaotic and started missing the ” who’s who” with so many elements romping all around the book. I started losing the track of it and had to go back and forth.
But would I recommend it? Yes! Read it for Fry, his wit, his wicked humor & his absolute love for this subject. Fry was unusually delicate about Gay Gods and his pleasing way of characterizing things kept me hooked up.
Fry absolutely has a grip over his love for language. He shows us how these myths gave us our modern-day expressions and how strong an impact they have on us. As you go deeper you realize that his goal was not to interpret or clarify things rather only to tell them, breathing new life into these well-known characters and making stories outright funny.
He has added notes littered all around for you to catch them. These are the soul of the book.
I loved Fry’s vibrant aura and would love to dig into more of his works before coming to any conclusions about my relationship with him. I recommend hearing the audiobook first for Fry made it irresistible.
Watch out, Mr. Neil Gaiman! I may fall for Mr.Fry
And Mr. Stephen Fry, you and I have one more date!
“You are beautiful the way you are. Gifted. Complete. You do not need anyone to tell you your worth. You need not pay attention to your friends. They are technically not your friends if they do not appreciate you. They are just using you to their benefit because you are extremely sensitive and benevolent. You will not be happy unless you get rid of them. You are just confusing yourself around them. A perfect relationship is a myth. It’s all in your head.”
I just convinced someone that he/she is worthless without actually uttering any such words. I am a “Gaslighter”.
I am charismatic, mysterious & hard to read. I get under your skin like a crawling creature, get stuck to your pulses, and control your every emotion, my way. I abuse people to the limit where they question their sanity and the trauma they experience is severe. But you know what, they can’t blame me for they know not what just they went through. And by the time they realize it, they might have no spine to fight them. I resemble a “Bostrichidae” who turns a beautiful piece of art into powder. Where do I reside? In your minds and souls, even when I am no more I continue to live with you, within you.
I trivialize you, brush off your concerns, divert your mind, discredit you for your attainments and make you believe that you are making up everything and all these facades never really happened.
Then how can you identify me? I am omnipresent. I am in your movies, in your books, within your family, among your friends, and within you. Every time you become vulnerable and question yourself, you fuel me up and I rise. I am invincible.
Can you identify me in your popular reads?
🤡 “Grown” by Tiffany A Jackson- I am your Korey to your Enchanted.
🤡”Before I Go To Sleep” by SJ Watson: I am Ben to your Christine.
🤡”A Splendid Ruin” by Megan Chance: Trust me I am more May Kimble than her cousin.
🤡”The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins: I am Tom to your Rachael.
🤡”Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn: I am Amy to everyone who reads me.
#qotd : Ahh! Do you really think you can fight me? Show me how!
Every year, we Odias celebrate the month of Margashira or Mrigashira (the 9th month of the Hindu calendar) when the Orion constellation appears prominently, commonly known as the Mrigashira Nakshatra (5th nakshatra of Lunar mansion) in Hindu mythology. The shape of the Orion belt resembles the head of an antelope according to Rig Ved. It is said that Nataraj (the Cosmic dancer) is seen in the constellation at this time.
The leading deity of this celebration is Mahalaxmi. Every Thursday the women clean up their houses, plaster the front gate with cow-dung and red soil, put Chita as decoration near the gate & in different parts of their houses. The footmarks of Mahalaxmi & lotus are marked through the site. Mahalaxmi idol or yantra is placed on a low table decorated with Chita(made of rice paste) and red cloth. Maana, a traditional bamboo measuring container, is filled to its brink with freshly harvested paddy & offered to Mahalaxmi along with gooseberry leaves, mango leaves, scutch grass, radish bunch, and betel nuts. A Kalash (water-pot topped with whole green coconut) is placed on the left of the idol.
Women perform the ritual in three phases the entire day, early morning (baala bhoga) ritual where they offer fruits as breakfast to Maa Laxmi, the mid-day lunch preparation that contains delicious delicacies that makes the complete Odia platter is offered to her and the day ends with fruits and soaked moong dal with sandhya aarti. The most appropriate serving way, according to Jagannath temple tradition, is to offer the same food to Lord Ganesha (her adopted son) first, followed by Varuna Dev(her father), Narayan( her husband), and Mahalaxmi. Since there is a belief to offer bhoga in an odd number of plates, hence the 5th platter is offered to every other deity.
Now to the myth. It is believed that Goddess Laxmi has a habit of strolling around the globe. She loves clean, sterile areas and houses that observe a disciplined structure. One such house was of Shriya, a scavenger low caste woman. Laxmi entered her house, amused by her devotion, blessed her with everything she asked for. On her return to Jagannath temple, she found Balabhadra( elder brother of Lord Jagannath) angry and was shown the gate for stepping into the house of an untouchable. Laxmi left the temple and avenged the insult by cursing both to go through a prolonged ordeal without food, water, or shelter for 12 years. After quite a tough time, both realized the importance of Laxmi(or the lady of the house) and pleaded with her to return. Laxmi agrees to return but on one condition that there will be no discrimination of caste and creed on earth.
Thus this Purana raises a voice against the practice of untouchability in society and promotes the implication of feminism and empowers the female to resist male hegemony, but does not suppress the other gender. Where on one hand we celebrate feminine energy, on the other hand, astrologers believe this month to represent strong masculine characters like Soma(Moon God) or Shiva. Thus this month also marks the significance of the Gemini sign (Mithun Rashi) that is the manifestation of dual characters.
We have such legends in every state that celebrates equality and feminism.
“In these times I don’t, in a manner of speaking, know what I want; perhaps I don’t want what I know and want what I don’t know.” Marsilio Ficino, The Letters of Marsilio
We, humans, are ambivalent. Duality in disposition interprets our true selves. Neither we have outstanding good characters nor the prominent evil ones. We keep wavering between them as long as we breathe. We sin, we bemoan, we ask for redemption. But when given chance, we sin again. There is this endless loop of going back to where it all began. But what changes, are the elements we confront in this loop. These elements are powerful enough to either make us hop into another loop for salvation or keep on running the same into our damnation. Do you know what’s crazy? We get to choose what spice we add to our curries. At every step of our life, we get options to choose that determines our fate.
Then why “Qué Será Será”?
Why it is said that what has to transpire will transpire?
If that is the case then why we need to do the right things at the right time? Why not live our lives with pride, ambitions, and arrogance? Are we deemed to have free will in our paths or is it all on fate? If you are confused then, mate, you are not alone in this, Doctor Faustus was equally disturbed.
Read Doctor Faustus, a play by Christopher Marlowe for the#spookitupanotch readathon conducted by our book club, The Biblioraptor BookClub. And guess what! I was amazed at how perfectly Marlowe understood the dual nature of humanity.
( No, this is not a review. This is completely my perception based on the play and the movie. If you disagree, kindly be polite about that and we can discuss it.)
*Connotation of Pride.
Many say that Doctor Faustus is the perfect portrayal of the inner struggle of the human mind. But I say, it’s so much more than that. The unmistakable point to notice was the portrayal of Pride and Ambition, not only of Faustus but also of one of the least interactive character, Lucifer. Who doesn’t know the biblical justification for the banishment of Lucifer? The pride that threw Lucifer out of heaven was the reason that took everything away from Faustus.
*The Duality resides in us.
There was a point when I screamed at Faustus.
A man who is in constant motion, mentally!
He fights between good and evil, between knowledge and greed, and even between God and the Renaissance. Being someone from the Medieval period but well-read, he is constantly wavering between Putting God as his central focus and longing for magic and necromancy. His primary interest in the deal was to gain proficiency in the other world as he had completely gained all sorts of Earthly Knowledge. But it didn’t take much time to hop into the shoes of greed and lust.
And then he had so many characters around him to detract him. The good and evil angels popping up, ” tween tween” and dragging him both ways. Then there are his worthless opportunistic friends who are just waiting to bathe in the light of his fame. And of course our beloved Mephistopheles.
Leave him alone, guys!
(I would suggest people read Dawkins Theory after this. It’s bizarre but will blow your mind and you can find similarities between this play and the book.)
*The mythical junctions.
The story of this Doctor of Divinity has all the connections with the Greek Tragedy (it’s that obvious), structurally and thematically. The preliminary speeches, the protagonist falling into the hands of circumstances, the choral narratives, and the heart-wrenching mishaps. I was amazed at the fact that this play had no particular narrator, either the characters are blabbering or the chorus just popping up out of nowhere to provide the background information about Faustus’ life, swelling pride, and how it led to his downfall. There was also this prominent indication of the popular tale of Icarus, the son of Daedalus. The biblical reference was clear too with the Sin-redemption-damnation concept. And “Deal with the devil” part taken from European folklore.
(Honestly, though the genre was a tragedy, I couldn’t stop laughing at a few places. Like the prank in Pope’s assembly was funny. Even Robin clown ignoring Mephis’ threatenings.)
*Faustus wanted to be a Demi-God.
Within a few intervals, the craving for knowledge was flushed into the gutter and all that left was the desire to become a demi-god with immense supremacy that paved the way to greed, lust, arrogance, and blind heeding into the evilness. He claimed to use the gained knowledge for greater researches but ends up using it for cheap tricks and dirty pranks. Faustus not only accepts evilness into him but also influences his surroundings, like Wagner using magic to control Robin or Robin summoning Mephistopheles for his naughty tricks.
I have a theory here, Faustus summons Mephistopheles and razes all links with God. But when Mephis arrives, he gets scared of his appearance and orders him to change his face and come back. And Mephis returns disguised as a saint. It clearly shows the hypocrisy that lies within us. We mask our evil traits with brighter and calmer faces and expect the other person to do the same. We believe that anyone wearing a mask of a saint is trustable, even if we realize that the person is disguised. Isn’t it what happening around us with all those self-proclaimed Gurus? Another point is, we humans cannot bear the burden of ugly truth, hence, we always prefer fabricated lies. This point is cleverly portrayed in the part where Faustus orders Mephistopheles to bring him an illusional spirit of Helen Of Troy (*steamy *steamy) in Act 5, twice. Even in his last moments, he yearns for the physical love of Helena but not the forgiveness of God.
*Homo Fuge.
The good and the evil angels very well represent the two states of mind but at various points, the emotions get intermingled. There is a lot of confusion between what is wrong and what is right in Faustus’ mind. Though it’s quite clear for the audience. (As expected)
The second appearance of the angels shows that humans always get second chances to rectify their deeds. It’s then the choices they make that changes their fate forever.
Even the blood getting clot indicates that as if the blood didn’t want him to sign the pact. It shows how at every step your mind and soul question your actions.
“Homo Fuge”, which means “Fly, man!”, shows that instead of flying into righteousness, Faustus chose to sell his soul to the Devil. A warning from God to fly away from this path for it will bring him no peace. Evil ways will always lure you to embrace them, but it’s you who decides the way your term ends.
*Mephistopheles, the star of the story.
The way Marlowe has given dialogues to Mephis is impeccable. Even for a moment, I wanted to sign that pact. It’s so seductive and persuasive that it feels so right at that moment. I can’t blame Faustus at that moment.
I loved the part where he explained that hell has no limits since it is not just any particular physical space. Any place away from your conscience is hell.
” Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed In one self place, for where we are is hell, And where hell is there must we ever be. -Mephistopheles”
“Hell is just a frame of mind“
The cunning creature, that he had to be, told Faustus the stories of Lucifer’s banishment, of heaven and hell but cleverly ignores the most crucial question, “who created the universe?” Wickedness avoids confrontation with eternal verities.
To distract Faustus from his quest for truth, Lucifer shows him a pageant of seven deadly sins.
How easy it is to manipulate us!
The path to damnation is always full of glory and grandiose. But the path to redemption tests you at every notch. Faustus cheats everyone, plays dirty pranks, and tortures people that came his way digging up his own grave.
A peculiar point that struck me was the point where Faustus ordered Mephis to torture the old man for warning him. According to the then applied theory, Mephis could only have tortured his body and not the soul, for his soul belongs to God. (He has not sold it to the devil) (correct me if I am wrong).
Even Robin’s part confused me. Was he turned into an animal? Let me know in the comments below.
*Ciao, Faustus.
All these for nothing? Noone helped Faustus in those last moments. His friends found his body brutally tortured and left alone. I remember reading these kinds of stories where the once glorious life ends with loneliness and murder. Why does it remind me of The Great Gatsby? Now to answer my question, it was never fate that dragged Faustus into his damnation. No one ever pressured him. (Although seduced) But he chose his own path. At every step, he was given the option to choose between the good and the bad. But he was so in lust for supremacy, that he couldn’t choose to struggle in the path of righteousness.
For Faustus, everything was out of the free will. Even summoning Mephistopheles.
“Fools that will laugh on earth, most weep in hell.“
I can go on writing about this marvelous piece of art. And you may even get another post about it. So don’t blame me.
Wanna know why am I so obsessed with this? Try reading Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. And if all these confused you, that’s because I tried to jink it up and not to spill the specific facts.
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Utkirtana 