Welcome back
To start, let’s do a writing exercise. This is something that I’m not going to ask you to share. It is entirely private to you. But it aims to open up some questions about your own gender identity, so we can see the complexities of individual lives.
- What is your gender identity? And what are the aspects of your life that don’t fit with how people might imagine this gender identity?
Andaya on the Bissu
In your breakout groups discuss:
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What did you find most interesting / fascinating about Andaya’s paper?
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What did you find most challenging?
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What is his main argument about gender diversity?
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What is the connection between “third genders” and sacred power?
What is a bissu?
Let’s look at the section on the bissu. But first, we’re going to watch a clip for four or five minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47N91BT0oWs
Then we’ll write:
How did you feel about what you saw? What ceremonies do this remind you of?
We’ll share this in the main group.
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What, according to Andaya, is a bissu in the culture of Sulawesi?
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What equivalents are there in Mynamar society (or in your own society)?