QueerAF: Trans+ History Week

The Hijras Taught Me That Being Trans and Indian Is Enduring

Art Director: Jamie Wareham and Marty Davies

Digitally published May 7th, 2024.

Hijra are transgender, intersex, or eunuch people who live in unique communities and are neither completely male nor female an identity which originates in ancient Hinduism, learning about them helped Alex Parmar-Yee (@fruity.py) feel that being trans and Indian is enduring.

In response, I created a digital illustration of Mohini, Krishna’s female avatar that gave way to the existence of hijras, standing in the middle of a group of modern day hijras.

I was inspired by Alex’s beautifully written article and the documentaries she sent my way to depict Mohini and hijras carrying themselves unapologetically, with the grace, dignity, and divinity they were afforded before westernization and colonization.

I hope that our collaboration makes people rethink just how long transness has existed, been celebrated, and had iterations across the globe, even if post-colonial records of history will tell you otherwise.