Androgyne

The androgyne in Antiquity

The people of the Antiquité made a clear difference between what Mircea Eliade calls the “hermaphrodite concrete” and the “ritual androgyne”: a newborn presenting of the signs of Hermaphrodisme in certain cultures and at particular times, was regarded as a sign of the anger of the God X and put at died at once. Only was tolerated the ritual androgyne as a model of the Coïncidence of the opposites, joining together the magic powers and nuns related to each of the two sexes; in this case, it did not act any more physiological hermaphrodism, but of the acquisition of the capacities of the two sexes by ritual practices, in particular by the fact of Travesti R; while other people saw in the Hermaphrodite the divine messenger (Ange) sent to establish the link between humanity and the spiritual world, undoubtedly explaining on-representativeness of the Hermaphrodite S among the Sibylle S, at the point to mark their time, as it was the case for that of Cumes, Aristodemos also called Parthénope, of which the central role cumulating those which religious leader (Sibylle), Politique (Tyran) and soldier (Stratège) allowed the foundation of Naples and especially the emergence of civilization Roman while turning over that Ci against the Etruscan empire .

The Platonic theory of the androgyne

This Platonic theory is presented by the character of Aristophane, in the speeches of the Banquet (189c - 193e). At the beginning, the human beings were of three sexes: male, female, and hermaphrodite. Having caused the anger of the gods, they were punished by Zeus which separated them each one in two halves, forming the current human beings. Since this cruel separation, those do not have of cease to find their half, which explains the phenomenon Amour them.

The androgyne of Balzac and Swedenborg

Balzac centered its novel Séraphîta on a character of androgyne directly resulting from the theories of Swedenborg. Séraphîtüs-Séraphîta, liked as a man by Mined and as a woman by Wilfred, fact proof of a scholarship and intellectual abilities largely higher than the average; being carried out in the love human, concrete, it is however not a angel descended on ground, but a perfect man, i.e. a “total” being.

The declining androgyne

In the novels and the news belonging to the declining movement of the 19th century, the figure of the androgyne is recurring, but in the shape of a morbid hermaphrodite, even satanic, who knows existence only sensual. One deals with a “degradation of the Symbole”.

Androgyny today

An androgyne is a person who estimates not to find her place in the binary diagram man/woman of the contemporary companies. One speaks about Transgenre or Transsexualisme according to whether the person is identified or not with the sexual Genre opposed to her biological sex. Androgyne indicates also a vestimentary style in the Gothique movement, man or woman which get dressed in its opposite sex but while remaining in the romantic or more aggressive ideology with the movement; in the broad sense one will speak about “crossdressing”, a more constant form of dressing-up. Several personalities known for their appearance androgyne with the XXème and 21st century included inter alia: David Bowie, Brian Molko of Placebo, Boy George (singer of Culture Club), Nicola Sirkis (singer of the group Indo-China) Mana-sama Ten Months, Yoshiki of X japan and majority of the members of group of Visual kei Japanese.

Other terms used

" Shemale " is a anglophone Néologisme, composed by the contraction of " she has male" who means " it is a homme" , to give rise to a third kind not neutral, designating the individuals equipped with sexual characters of the two sexes (more or less female appearance, but male sex), according to Male logic /Female/Shemale .

This new name echoes especially many pornographic sites, which make pass, with a commercial aim, male transsexuals still not operated for " women who have a pénis". It is crucial to note the difference between the " shemales" , whose characteristic is psychological (it not acceptance of its sex) but which has a body sexually normal (man or woman), cases of proven hermaphrodism, people born with a biological sexual ambiguity, often genetic problem of origin. The " also should be distinguished; shemales" androgynes, whose only appearance is taken into account to define them by this word, which refers to cultural considerations and not to biology.

With the Japan, another Anglicisme is preferred to him. " New half " meaning new half , also retranscribed katakana ニュ - ハ - フ in romanji by Newhalf into only one words, reference to " second half of the ciel" , used by the great helmsman to indicate the Woman.

In Thailand the term Katoey is used. One speaks about it by saying " elle". The Buddhist religion explaining their characteristic by the fact that they were probably women in a former life. The term Ladyboy is also employed.

The term of Brazilian , also used to indicate some of these people, indicates at the same time the historical and geographical origin phenomenon of the Prostitution " Exotic " in Europe. The majority of homosexual (it) the S fleeing the dictatorship then present at them for countries if not more tolerant, offering to them at least another alternative to the capital punishment incurred in their regions to the Machisme exacerbated.

Often marginalized by their condition, " elles" in the majority of the cases are relegated to employment related on the industry of the sex and the " world of the nuit" , sometimes like " hôtesses" in nightclubs or clubs exchangers.

See too

Transgendérisme
Sar Péladan
Swinburne
Aleister Crowley

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