Frida Kahlo

A comment by Muzuzus to my previous post reminded me of this self-portrait complete with moustache and eyebrows. I will not comment beyond saying that she seems to me to have been fully woman.

Look east, Benedict!

Shortly after the Pope spouted his nonsense about the end of the world being the result of "gender indeterminism" - I exaggerate slightly but not by much - the traditionally conservative Moslem country of Bangla Desh has taken a step towards acceptance of difference. For the first time in the country's history the 100,000 "hijras" - transexuals, both pre and post-operative- will be allowed to vote. The full story is here.

This is not without its problems, however, since voters at the polling stations are separated by sex. There is no third line. Where do transexuals fit in within this rigid binary division? A division, after all, that the Pope sees as essential to human survival. The solution here has has been purely pragmatic. An official said:

We thought long and hard about it but eventually decided that hijras must go to the line that we think suits them best. The more feminine ones will be in the ladies' line while the ones who seem more manly will be in with the men.

This is far from ideal but i cannot see how it could have been done in any other way - given the cultural imperative to keep men and women separate. It does lead to some interesting questions, however. If, as the official says, the division will be made simply on external appearance, that very well lead to female born women of conventionally "unfeminine" appearance being directed to the line marked "men". I can see that causing a few problems. Just as many of the hijras may also feel upset at being so directed. But praise is due to Bangla Desh for thus extending the franchise.

Benedict, people just do not fit into the boxes you find so admirable and necessary. Are you sorry that your old organisation, The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, no longer has the power it once wielded to enforce uniformity? Life was so simple then, wasn't it?

BBC - In Our Time

I'm posting a link to this site - both here and in the list to the left.

For those who are not UK based, this is a long-running regular feature of Radio 4. In it, the moderator, Melvyn Braqg, invites experts in all forms of scholarship from quantum physics through renaissance Italy to modern economics, to discuss a particular theme. As an intelligent layman, his job is to encourage the experts make the often arcane subjects of their expertise highly accessible.

Whenever you have an hour or so spare, and want to sit back and listen to intelligent and stimulating talk, I would recommend browsing through this archive and choosing whatever you fancy. Try something you do not think you could possibly understand and/or find interesting. You may well get a very pleasant surprise. It is a treasure chest of the history of human thought!