A ‘Hijra’ House of ‘Their’ Own: Reading Trans Domesticity in Indian Anglophone Trans Autobiographical Narratives

Everyday trans experiences in an otherwise heteronormative society are enacted within the domestic sphere, where they have a profound impact. This is because domestic world is not only the first world experienced by humans, but it is a space which in an ideal condition becomes a home, allowing daydreaming and dwelling. However, for those with trans identities, the vision of an ideal domesticity is in perpetual conflict with their lived reality: Heteronormative homes are spatially arranged to ascribe gender-specific roles based on domestic chores, often restricting women and excluding trans individuals. As such, trans domestic space serves as a potent signifier of how trans lives are or/and how trans lives could be. This study, therefore, attempts to make visible the trans domestic space— its lived, perceived, and imagined forms—in Indian Anglophone trans autobiographical narratives. While Section I theorizes trans domesticity, Section II contextualizes Indian Anglophone autobiographical narratives. In so doing, Section III makes a textual analysis of trans domesticity as represented in Indian Anglophone autobiographical narratives. Section IV thereby draws conclusion.