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Transgender, being between genders, is an emancipatory notion. The duality of genders with its two poles of masculinity and femininity is a fiction maintained by violence. Gender is multiple; it is a continuum where female and male attributes are gradable. The heteronormative system supports itself by dividing genders up and by stigmatising transgender identities. However, transgendered persons are seen as beings with two spirits in many religious traditions. They are closer to the sacrum, have supernatural powers, and play an important role in rituals by mediating between the human and the divine orders. Androgyny and hermaphroditism have been considered and depicted since antiquity. Artists have always been fascinated by transgression of finite gender categories and willing to explore the areas in between. From mythical androgyny, through masquerades and cabarets, to contemporary identity and body politics, transgender is present in works of art.
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