The Role of Hermaphrodites in Society Essay -- Sociology Essays Resear

The Role of Hermaphrodites in SocietyIn Ruth Gilberts At the Borders of the Human, she discusses societys occupy in hermaphrodites in terms of peoples desire to examine, scrutinize, and display objects which are alien, strange and other (6). The anomalous and bizarre spectacle of the hermaphroditic body has gaunt the focus of scientists since the early sixteenth century. Hermaphrodites have long evoked a mixture of disgust and desire, and fear and fascination(Gilbert 150) that has led to their position as objects of scientific scrutiny. As defined by Random House Websters College Dictionary, a hermaphrodite is an individual in which reproductive organs of both sexes are fall in. Besides hermaphrodites challenging societys physical norms, they challenge and have recently changed its cultural norms as well. In ancient societies, dual-sexed beings were either exterminated, considered to be beings of suffering, or regarded as strange phenomena (Brisson 40). Their roles in soci ety were nonexistent because they were viewed as threatening deviance from the...