How Spirit Mediums Blur Gender Lines in Southeast AsiaCNN April 12th, 2018 How Spirit Mediums Blur Gender Lines in Southeast Asia Oscar Holland This article explains how in Southeast Asia, biological men wear makeup and clothing that are traditionally worn by women. It's a growing phenomenon, thats become much more accepted in the more recent decade or so. The biggest reason why the men dress as women for religious ceremonies is that women are easiest to posses. This has been going on for a long time and has been a long standing tradition especially in Southeast Asian culture, however, it's become more common and accepted in the more recent years. Around sixty years or so ago, spirit mediums were, more often than not, cis female women. Now, the more popular spirit mediums tend to identify as gay men, transgender women, or gender non-conforming mediums. A state of fluidity tends to take place during these rituals, depending on the spirits believed to be present in these rituals, the medium can change from a more masculine or feminine roll throughout the session depending on the presences they sense around them. The mediums interviewed throughout this article are very open in discussing their identities and and sexual orientation, the article giving me more insight and information about a culture that I hadn't previously known anything about. I found this article to be insightful and something that really interested me. The individuals photographed for this article all are so beautiful, the photographs well taken and incredibly intriguing. I'd love to look more into this culture and see how it compares to the other cultures and religions around Asia. A big belief in this culture is that the spirits the mediums are looking to connect with beauty and cleanliness. One of the transgender women interviewed to this article believes that the spirits are especially drawn to the transgender women because of the beauty they posses. I will comment on Bre and Simon C's blogs.
1 Comment
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2018
Categories |