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Shormita examines the life and times of a hijra. Here’s a critique of the first transgender novel, The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story. An exclusive for Different Truths.
The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story is an autobiographical novel written by A. Revathi. She is a trans woman activist, and a writer. The novel was originally written in Tamil and later, it was translated by V. Geetha in English. It was published in the year 2010 by Penguin Books India.
The theme of the novel is based on the life journey of a transgender Revathi. She had faced discrimination and negligence for her gender identity. As the title highlights, its main theme is the harsh and awful reality of a trans person’s life. Thus, its title is suggestive, intriguing, and expressive.
The theme of the novel is based on the life journey of a transgender Revathi.
Revathi belongs to a small village called Namakkal Taluk in Salem, Tamil Nadu. She was named Doraisamy by her parents after her birth. As she was born as a male. Revathi was a trans child, born with a male reproductive organ. She narrated her plight from being a boy (Doraisamy) to a transwoman (Revathi).
Structure of the Novel
The novel has 28 chapters. It follows the chronology of her life. Revathi belongs to a middle-class family with three brothers and a sister. Her father and brothers work very hard to earn a livelihood. As Doraisamy, he had the privilege to receive education among his siblings. But he was not good at studies.
Revathi narrates her inner feminine feelings, which were difficult to suppress.
Revathi narrates her inner feminine feelings, which were difficult to suppress. Ultimately, she had Nirvanna (sex-change-operation) and, get rid of her masculinity. As a transwoman, she faced the harsh reality of being a transgender. She was into begging and even prostitution to earn her daily bread. She faced oppression and humiliation from her family and society.
Assaulted and Tortured
She was sexually assaulted by rowdy men. And was mentally tortured by society and family, and physically abused by police officials. She aptly pointed out all the unjust treatment by the society to transgenders for their gender identity.
The tone of the novel is filled with pathos and agony.
The language of the novel is easy and understandable. The tone of the novel is filled with pathos and agony. It highlights the pain of Revathi. And the hard struggle she faced in life. Also, the writer sometimes uses a rhetoric tone that questions the hetero-normative society for its gender binary structure.
Although, there are many words used in other languages like Tamil and Hindi. The syntax of the sentences is arranged very simply. The writer penned small sentences that are separated by commas, ellipsis, hyphens, quotation marks, and full stops.
Revathi had published her first book, in 2004, Unarvum Uruvamum, in Tamil.
Revathi had published her first book, in 2004, Unarvum Uruvamum, in Tamil. This book also deals with various short stories that portray the hardships of the transgender community. The life story of Revathi is inspiring for every transgender.
Breaks the Cliché
In The Truth About Me, Revathi broke the cliché representation of the transgender community. She tried to portray the harsh reality of a society that discriminates among human beings. Moreover, the writer examined the flaws found in the governance that didn’t give recognition to transgenders at that time. It is one of the first novels in the ‘third gender’ genre. Also, this novel is autobiographical in nature. The experiences shared by the author with a voice of authority, is the novel’s strength.
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