Stories of violence and tales of hope
Voices from the kothi community in India
By Vidya Shah and
Aditya Bondyopadhyay
Photographs by Parthiv Shah
[Click the image to download the file. It is 8.5mb]
Kothi: a self-identifying label for those males who feminise their behaviours (either to attract “manly” male sexual partners and/or as part of their own gender construction and usually in specific situations and contexts), and who state that they prefer to be sexually penetrated anally and/or orally. Kothi behaviours have a highly performative quality in social spaces. Self-identified kothis use this term for males who are sexually penetrated, even when their behaviour is not feminised. This is the primary and most visible framework of MSM behaviours. Kothis state that they do not have sex with other kothis; however, they may also be married to women.
In Pakistan, the equivalent term is "zenana," while in Nepal it is "meti." In Calcutta, India, the term "parik" is used. Other terms probably exist in other areas.
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