Abstract: This paper examines the construction of gender identity through gender performance in Me Hijra, Me Laxmi by Laxmi and The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story by A. Revathi. Through a critical analysis of the selected autobiographies, this paper explores the constant regulation of hijra bodies in mainstream society and within their community. To achieve the objective of this study, Judith Butler’s theory of performativity, as developed in her texts Gender Trouble (1990) and Bodies That Matter (1993), has been applied to explore the hijra body as a site of gender performance. The narratives of Laxmi and Revathi reveal how they performed as cisgender children to meet the demands of a heteronormative society and later as hijras to feel a sense of belongingness among the hijras. These acts illustrate how they negotiated their gender identity to fit both dominant social expectations and the normative frameworks of the hijra community.
Maibangsa et al. (Mon,) studied this question.