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A Life In Trans Activism
A. Revathi’s memoir The Truth about Me became a sensation in India when it was published in 2011. The pathbreaking autobiography told the story of Revathi’s childhood uneasiness with her male body, her exile to a house of hijras (the South Asian term for trans people) in Delhi, and her eventual transition. Now in her second book, A Life in Trans Activism , Revathi opens up once again, telling the story of her life as an activist.
In the Thiruchengode temple, with the hills of the Ardhanareeshwara as her backdrop, Revathi begins a conversation about what it means to live on the margins of society. She shares stories about her life working for the NGO, Sangama, which helps transgender people, and her remarkable journey there from office assistant to director. She describes her research into the lives of those who make the transition from female to male identity; her efforts to provide a voice to those who do not fit the gender binary; and her travels around the world to discuss the community’s experience. Revathi also sheds light on her decision to quit Sangama and continue her struggle as an independent activist—including her collaboration with a theater group performing a play based on her autobiography.
As told to Nandini Murali, A Life in Trans Activism provides insight into one of the least talked about subjects in our society—from the point of view of a person most qualified to talk about it. This is a rare and searingly honest account of Revathi’s life—on both sides of the gender binary.
In the Thiruchengode temple, with the hills of the Ardhanareeshwara as her backdrop, Revathi begins a conversation about what it means to live on the margins of society. She shares stories about her life working for the NGO, Sangama, which helps transgender people, and her remarkable journey there from office assistant to director. She describes her research into the lives of those who make the transition from female to male identity; her efforts to provide a voice to those who do not fit the gender binary; and her travels around the world to discuss the community’s experience. Revathi also sheds light on her decision to quit Sangama and continue her struggle as an independent activist—including her collaboration with a theater group performing a play based on her autobiography.
As told to Nandini Murali, A Life in Trans Activism provides insight into one of the least talked about subjects in our society—from the point of view of a person most qualified to talk about it. This is a rare and searingly honest account of Revathi’s life—on both sides of the gender binary.
200 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2016
7 people are currently reading
355 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 24, 2022
This book is due to be released in the UK this fall and I suspect it may be updated regarding recent rulings in India, but I hope they do not smooth out too much of the colloquial, oral quality of this important book. Revanthi, a transgender woman shares a little of her history, her life in hijra community and her experiences in advocacy. She is very honest about the exclusion she and other trans people have experienced in NGOs. What surprised me was the amount of time devoted to the stories of trans men. There are five transcribed stories and two personal accounts. For myself as a trans man 20 years into transition who has been to India several times this was extraordinarily interesting. The barriers and challenges faced by everyone profiled in this book, transgender male and female, are much more substantial than the stories heard in the west—and all the more important for that reason.
A longer review and reflection can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2022/06/24/pr...
A longer review and reflection can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2022/06/24/pr...
April 9, 2025
Everyone should read this !!! Everyone in the world !!!
December 20, 2017
This book is a phenomenal collection of narratives by the noted transwoman activist A Revathi and accounts of transmen - Mookan, Charu, Kiran, Sonu, Christy, Gee and Satya. This book pictures the politics of NGOs, the prevalent tokenism, despairing and hopeful possibilities of activism through such organization, interplays of representation, power and decision making. Revathi traces her trans-activist life and the life of Famila is the one that touched me most. Another major problem is the lack of health care, botched Sex-reassignment-surgeries and even otherwise health care requirements which is denied as the doctors and medical practioners and institutions in general still abject and violate transbodies. The TFM stories also talked about the dearth of spaces and opportunities for transpeople to express love, romance and care. The problems they face are mani-fold and structured in many layers facing harrasment at multiple levels and lacking any alternative social support systems like the hijra community for the transwomen however hierarchical the latter may be.
The harrasment from the state through Police, bureaucrats and the negation of citizenship are other pressing matters. So is the perception of sex-work in itself which is looked down upon even by the NGOs and social workers themselves who portray themselves as working for the marginalized. This book is a must read, whoever you are and whatever you do. I ended the last page with the prayer that the Transbill which has now become dehumanizing and violating the rights of transpeople will be stopped and be replaced with a one inclusively formulated and liberating gender.
The harrasment from the state through Police, bureaucrats and the negation of citizenship are other pressing matters. So is the perception of sex-work in itself which is looked down upon even by the NGOs and social workers themselves who portray themselves as working for the marginalized. This book is a must read, whoever you are and whatever you do. I ended the last page with the prayer that the Transbill which has now become dehumanizing and violating the rights of transpeople will be stopped and be replaced with a one inclusively formulated and liberating gender.
June 14, 2025
Sometimes you read another person's life experience and realise that your ideas and thinking about them were shaped by misinformation and incorrect. This book that tells trans activist Revathi's story and talks about her efforts to help her community is hard hitting and an eye opener to the plight of the transgender community in India.
Assigned male at birth, Revathi struggled with gender dysphoria years before the term was coined and no one in her family or town (Salem in Tamil Nadu, India) understood or accepted it. Her determination to live a life based on her own truth caused her much pain at the hands of her family who ostracized her (though they had no qualms about taking the money she sent them or letting her take on the responsibility of caring for her father!). Given all she had to deal with, her resilience is just amazing as are her efforts to help others like her live with dignity and respect.
The book details how she has worked to support those who are gender nonconforming or of diverse sexual orientation and includes the real life accounts of some of them. Her quest is for basic human rights and equality for all.
''Rehabilitation, in the true sense of the idea for us, is acknowledging and affirming our human rights. Why do we experience stigma and discrimination? Why do our birth families disown us? Why are we thrown out of our homes and schools? We need policy changes through the government, sensitization for schoolteachers and laws for protecting child rights. All of these are part of long-term policy changes towards sustainable rehabilitation for our community. In the absence of all these, the only two options for us are street-based sex work and begging.'
Her life has never been easy, not even after she joined and worked with Sangama, an NGO that works with the LGBT community but she has continued to help so many others. The abject misery and torture that transgender people go through right from when they decide to go against the societal norms is horrible. Physical and mental violence and no means of supporting themselves are just a few of the issues they face and that activists like Revathi attempt to address.The questions she raises are really thought-provoking. In India, those we learn to shrink away from and see portrayed in the most demeaning and crude way in our movies (the hijra community) need us to change our thinking and Revathi is one of their true champions.
'Despite being an activist, as a trans woman, I still experience multiple forms of discrimination in my family, and in public places. Our moralistic and judgmental society wonders why we are like this. But I ask them – can you live like us even for a day? Despite the hurdles, we persist in living the lives we want. Instead of judging us, give us the opportunity to lead a life of dignity and respect just like any other person'
Her words bring about an understanding of the life choices she has made, one that lets us see beyond the ridicule and even fear that has been drummed into us for years.
'Gradually, I began to find my calling as an activist who highlighted the needs, concerns and aspirations of the transgender community. It seemed the most natural thing to happen because I believe that there cannot be a better experience than the one born out of lived reality.
I did not become a trans woman on an impulse or because I was so arrogantly self-centered that I wished to disown every trace of my maleness. Rather, I became a trans woman because I had always felt that I was a woman. But a woman trapped in a male body. I wanted to free myself from this prison and embrace my femininity. That is the essence of my journey towards womanhood.'
We need to read, learn, change and become better human beings.
Assigned male at birth, Revathi struggled with gender dysphoria years before the term was coined and no one in her family or town (Salem in Tamil Nadu, India) understood or accepted it. Her determination to live a life based on her own truth caused her much pain at the hands of her family who ostracized her (though they had no qualms about taking the money she sent them or letting her take on the responsibility of caring for her father!). Given all she had to deal with, her resilience is just amazing as are her efforts to help others like her live with dignity and respect.
The book details how she has worked to support those who are gender nonconforming or of diverse sexual orientation and includes the real life accounts of some of them. Her quest is for basic human rights and equality for all.
''Rehabilitation, in the true sense of the idea for us, is acknowledging and affirming our human rights. Why do we experience stigma and discrimination? Why do our birth families disown us? Why are we thrown out of our homes and schools? We need policy changes through the government, sensitization for schoolteachers and laws for protecting child rights. All of these are part of long-term policy changes towards sustainable rehabilitation for our community. In the absence of all these, the only two options for us are street-based sex work and begging.'
Her life has never been easy, not even after she joined and worked with Sangama, an NGO that works with the LGBT community but she has continued to help so many others. The abject misery and torture that transgender people go through right from when they decide to go against the societal norms is horrible. Physical and mental violence and no means of supporting themselves are just a few of the issues they face and that activists like Revathi attempt to address.The questions she raises are really thought-provoking. In India, those we learn to shrink away from and see portrayed in the most demeaning and crude way in our movies (the hijra community) need us to change our thinking and Revathi is one of their true champions.
'Despite being an activist, as a trans woman, I still experience multiple forms of discrimination in my family, and in public places. Our moralistic and judgmental society wonders why we are like this. But I ask them – can you live like us even for a day? Despite the hurdles, we persist in living the lives we want. Instead of judging us, give us the opportunity to lead a life of dignity and respect just like any other person'
Her words bring about an understanding of the life choices she has made, one that lets us see beyond the ridicule and even fear that has been drummed into us for years.
'Gradually, I began to find my calling as an activist who highlighted the needs, concerns and aspirations of the transgender community. It seemed the most natural thing to happen because I believe that there cannot be a better experience than the one born out of lived reality.
I did not become a trans woman on an impulse or because I was so arrogantly self-centered that I wished to disown every trace of my maleness. Rather, I became a trans woman because I had always felt that I was a woman. But a woman trapped in a male body. I wanted to free myself from this prison and embrace my femininity. That is the essence of my journey towards womanhood.'
We need to read, learn, change and become better human beings.
Want to read
December 28, 2021reading this for an internship, let's see how it goes
August 11, 2018
A.Revathi tells the story of her youth, how she learned to stand up to abuse, for her rights and rights of others. This turned into a life of trans activism and overall activism. She shares her own story along with the stories of several trans men. Each of them fights to be true to herself or himself, in spite of overwhelming pressure to be something different.
Not everyone made it. A.Revathi herself almost didn’t. Most of the narrators faced constant abuse, condemnation, and other obstacles to conform to societal norms, to be the gender everyone else felt they should be. Insults, jeers, physical attacks, and sexual assault were among the weapons wielded by society to force them to be something each narrator knew in his or her heart they weren’t.
This was not an easy read. I often shuddered, horrified by the actions of those closest to the narrators, actions which struck me as far more criminal than anything the narrators did. There was the hope in finding a purpose in an organization in social activism, only to find that self interest and politics had obscured that purpose.
There were bright moments within the struggle, though, such as the warmth and exquisite ritual of the hijras A. Revathi joined, how they shaped and infuenced her. Alas, their rigorous decorum often disregarded the immediate physical danger A.Revathi was in from her brothers. There were her daughters and sons, trans women and men whom A. Revathi offered a hand to, even though she met with disapproval for doing so.
The brightest moment of all, for me, was her reaction to a play about her own life, the way she reacted to it.
I can’t even begin to say how this moved me. She said that art had a power to touch people’s hearts and to make her experiences available to everyone, that it made her able to cry and react to her own past in a way she hadn’t at the time.
This makes me feel proud, not only of myself, but of everyone in my profession. We may never make a huge amount of money, but we make a difference. We have a power to change the world. What’s more, we have a power to help people cry the tears they may need to shed, building up inside them.
I’m really hoping A.Revathi will meet an artist that will help her to laugh as well.
She taught me a great deal, the narrator of this book. I knew next to nothing about India. This account brought me words I’d never heard before. It gave a glimpse of the life of the hijras, how they’re reviled and discriminated, some of the hard choices they’ve had to make, and the beauty they’d created in their struggle to exist. They brought dignity and ritual to their transgendered state. At the same time, A. Revathi’s account of life with him showed how strict adherence to these rituals could seriously endanger a girl trying to escape from a boy’s body, surrounded by enemies with the power to harm her. At times this adherence seemed like an eerie mirror of the same demands the narrator’s family and the people she grew up with in their rigid sense of what was proper and shouldn’t be done.
Putting principles before people can be a merciless way to live. A.Revathi’s experiences seem to highlight this lesson.
How does one judge someone else’s life? The narrator forces to reader to ask herself this question again and again while gesturing to hers. She educates us about her world, her individual circumstances, along with the circumstances which shaped those who shared their stories with her. She exposes the truth with a painful rawness, challenging us about our squeamishness about that rawness. This is her life. These are the truths she’s sharing with us. She’s not going to shy away from them or avoid them, no matter how harsh they might be. To do so would undercut the purpose in sharing her story.
This is another book which deserves a place among required reading for the awareness it raises. Like I said, it’s not an easy read. It’s an essential one. For this, I give it five stars.
Not everyone made it. A.Revathi herself almost didn’t. Most of the narrators faced constant abuse, condemnation, and other obstacles to conform to societal norms, to be the gender everyone else felt they should be. Insults, jeers, physical attacks, and sexual assault were among the weapons wielded by society to force them to be something each narrator knew in his or her heart they weren’t.
This was not an easy read. I often shuddered, horrified by the actions of those closest to the narrators, actions which struck me as far more criminal than anything the narrators did. There was the hope in finding a purpose in an organization in social activism, only to find that self interest and politics had obscured that purpose.
There were bright moments within the struggle, though, such as the warmth and exquisite ritual of the hijras A. Revathi joined, how they shaped and infuenced her. Alas, their rigorous decorum often disregarded the immediate physical danger A.Revathi was in from her brothers. There were her daughters and sons, trans women and men whom A. Revathi offered a hand to, even though she met with disapproval for doing so.
The brightest moment of all, for me, was her reaction to a play about her own life, the way she reacted to it.
I can’t even begin to say how this moved me. She said that art had a power to touch people’s hearts and to make her experiences available to everyone, that it made her able to cry and react to her own past in a way she hadn’t at the time.
This makes me feel proud, not only of myself, but of everyone in my profession. We may never make a huge amount of money, but we make a difference. We have a power to change the world. What’s more, we have a power to help people cry the tears they may need to shed, building up inside them.
I’m really hoping A.Revathi will meet an artist that will help her to laugh as well.
She taught me a great deal, the narrator of this book. I knew next to nothing about India. This account brought me words I’d never heard before. It gave a glimpse of the life of the hijras, how they’re reviled and discriminated, some of the hard choices they’ve had to make, and the beauty they’d created in their struggle to exist. They brought dignity and ritual to their transgendered state. At the same time, A. Revathi’s account of life with him showed how strict adherence to these rituals could seriously endanger a girl trying to escape from a boy’s body, surrounded by enemies with the power to harm her. At times this adherence seemed like an eerie mirror of the same demands the narrator’s family and the people she grew up with in their rigid sense of what was proper and shouldn’t be done.
Putting principles before people can be a merciless way to live. A.Revathi’s experiences seem to highlight this lesson.
How does one judge someone else’s life? The narrator forces to reader to ask herself this question again and again while gesturing to hers. She educates us about her world, her individual circumstances, along with the circumstances which shaped those who shared their stories with her. She exposes the truth with a painful rawness, challenging us about our squeamishness about that rawness. This is her life. These are the truths she’s sharing with us. She’s not going to shy away from them or avoid them, no matter how harsh they might be. To do so would undercut the purpose in sharing her story.
This is another book which deserves a place among required reading for the awareness it raises. Like I said, it’s not an easy read. It’s an essential one. For this, I give it five stars.
January 3, 2023
An inspiring and heart breaking account of A.Revathi, an Indian transwoman activist and the difficulties she experienced not only transitioning, but living as a Hijra and the prejudice and violence she faced. Beaten as a young boy by her family for trying to escape their expectations for her, she learns of communities where people like her are accepted and taken care of. The hijra community takes her in and she is assigned a guru but practically the only way transwomen can make money is through prostitution, money which her guru would take for herself. As in all prostitution she faced danger and abuse from strangers and the police who also beat and humiliated her and eventually had to make the decision to end this way of life, take her own life or lose it. She then went on to work with various NGO’s before becoming an independent activist working in India and around the world.
Revatthi’s voice shines through this book as narrated to Nandini Murali, her strength of will and determination to choose her identity as she wishes it to be, to go beyond the hijra community which is still not accepted by many young trans women in India. These women make a point of not identifying as hijras because of the stigma, exclusion and stereotypes. She speaks of the way in which society made her feel that the only way to be considered a woman was to have surgery and how this goes wrong on so many occasions with long term consequences.
Revathi meets two younger trans people who she adopts unofficially as her children and speaks about how their perspective educated her in so many ways and introduced her to a whole other community of LGBT people. She explains that in India, trans people don’t just have to cope with gender difference but with class and caste differences which still divide those who are the same in so many ways -many of the people she features in the book are from poor and/low caste families. She joins the NGO Sandana and through them gets training in how to talk to the police when confronted, meets and advocates in LGBT cases and writes of the many cases she has been involved with. She takes part in conferences and events all around the world and was the first person to get her correct gender on her passport. At these events she realizes the stereo types that exist about trans people even within their own community. She shows the gaps in the Indian system when it comes to trans rights and confronts her own stereotypical ideas of what a woman should be, embracing feminism.
Revathi also discusses the way in which female to male trans people are not as accepted in the transgender community and in the second half of the book there are several interviews with transmen giving their perspective. These men don’t have communities like the hijra to support them, however, flawed that may be and are often ignored by NGO’s etc. They are a minority within an already marginalized group and again, like the stories of her own life, they are often heartbreaking.
She writes that things are changing when she was writing the book, for example, in 2015 the Indian Supreme court passed a judgment that recognized the option of a third gender for hijras or transgender people, yet Revathi wonders if it is necessary to have a separate category at all or if these work for everyone. (in 2019, the Transgender Persons Bill was passed which is still problematic in many ways) She also writes that ‘the best legislation in the world is of no use if people’s mindsets and attitudes remain closed’ and that only when women are seen as equals will trans people be ‘truly respected as humans.’ So many trans narratives seem to focus on the Western world and I have to thank the excellent reviewer Joseph Schreiber of the Rough Ghosts blog for putting this book onto my radar.
‘By overcoming and destroying caste, religion, gender, colour and hierarchies, everyone should be able to see humans as humans.’
Revatthi’s voice shines through this book as narrated to Nandini Murali, her strength of will and determination to choose her identity as she wishes it to be, to go beyond the hijra community which is still not accepted by many young trans women in India. These women make a point of not identifying as hijras because of the stigma, exclusion and stereotypes. She speaks of the way in which society made her feel that the only way to be considered a woman was to have surgery and how this goes wrong on so many occasions with long term consequences.
Revathi meets two younger trans people who she adopts unofficially as her children and speaks about how their perspective educated her in so many ways and introduced her to a whole other community of LGBT people. She explains that in India, trans people don’t just have to cope with gender difference but with class and caste differences which still divide those who are the same in so many ways -many of the people she features in the book are from poor and/low caste families. She joins the NGO Sandana and through them gets training in how to talk to the police when confronted, meets and advocates in LGBT cases and writes of the many cases she has been involved with. She takes part in conferences and events all around the world and was the first person to get her correct gender on her passport. At these events she realizes the stereo types that exist about trans people even within their own community. She shows the gaps in the Indian system when it comes to trans rights and confronts her own stereotypical ideas of what a woman should be, embracing feminism.
Revathi also discusses the way in which female to male trans people are not as accepted in the transgender community and in the second half of the book there are several interviews with transmen giving their perspective. These men don’t have communities like the hijra to support them, however, flawed that may be and are often ignored by NGO’s etc. They are a minority within an already marginalized group and again, like the stories of her own life, they are often heartbreaking.
She writes that things are changing when she was writing the book, for example, in 2015 the Indian Supreme court passed a judgment that recognized the option of a third gender for hijras or transgender people, yet Revathi wonders if it is necessary to have a separate category at all or if these work for everyone. (in 2019, the Transgender Persons Bill was passed which is still problematic in many ways) She also writes that ‘the best legislation in the world is of no use if people’s mindsets and attitudes remain closed’ and that only when women are seen as equals will trans people be ‘truly respected as humans.’ So many trans narratives seem to focus on the Western world and I have to thank the excellent reviewer Joseph Schreiber of the Rough Ghosts blog for putting this book onto my radar.
‘By overcoming and destroying caste, religion, gender, colour and hierarchies, everyone should be able to see humans as humans.’
March 31, 2018
A Life in Trans Activism by A Revathi as told to Nandini Murali
This was a book recommended to me by two of my friends and I must say it has been a very insightful read. Growing up and well into my thirties, anything other than being straight was considered freakish. It is only when I worked in New York almost 20 years ago that I first personally met Gay people by way of colleagues that I began to understand and realize that they are normal human beings, loving, caring and just like the rest of us, so to speak. The term transgender wasn’t even heard of at the time by me. It was Gay and Lesbian and cross dressing. Having grown up in India, we were aware of transgenders by the Indian term Hijra. The term itself would evoke a sense of fear - we wanted to be as far as possible from them and found them to be a nuisance when they showed up at wedding celebrations or at the birth of a child or at traffic signals as beggars. It is shameful to admit that it never occurred to me to stop and think that they were human beings like us and were a set of people who were marginalized and oppressed by society. It never occurred to me how difficult their lives were, it never occurred to me that they lacked basic human rights and dignity. They couldn’t get a government ID, they couldn’t get a driver’s license, they couldn’t get a passport, they couldn’t open bank accounts, heck they even lacked basic necessities like a home, clean water and food. They were shunned not just by society, they were shunned by their own parents and siblings, their teachers, friends and neighbors. They often dropped out of school because of gender issues and had little or no success at getting a job. They almost, always ran away from home. Therefore, the only two sources of income for them was sex trade and begging. They were arrested by authorities, tortured and demeaned. This book, the story of a transgender woman named Revathi and her activism, is an eye opener. The trials and tribulations this community has had to endure and is still enduring is unfathomable. We now have NGOs or non profit organizations getting involved to fight for basic human rights for them. Thank goodness for that, although they have a long way to go.
This was a book recommended to me by two of my friends and I must say it has been a very insightful read. Growing up and well into my thirties, anything other than being straight was considered freakish. It is only when I worked in New York almost 20 years ago that I first personally met Gay people by way of colleagues that I began to understand and realize that they are normal human beings, loving, caring and just like the rest of us, so to speak. The term transgender wasn’t even heard of at the time by me. It was Gay and Lesbian and cross dressing. Having grown up in India, we were aware of transgenders by the Indian term Hijra. The term itself would evoke a sense of fear - we wanted to be as far as possible from them and found them to be a nuisance when they showed up at wedding celebrations or at the birth of a child or at traffic signals as beggars. It is shameful to admit that it never occurred to me to stop and think that they were human beings like us and were a set of people who were marginalized and oppressed by society. It never occurred to me how difficult their lives were, it never occurred to me that they lacked basic human rights and dignity. They couldn’t get a government ID, they couldn’t get a driver’s license, they couldn’t get a passport, they couldn’t open bank accounts, heck they even lacked basic necessities like a home, clean water and food. They were shunned not just by society, they were shunned by their own parents and siblings, their teachers, friends and neighbors. They often dropped out of school because of gender issues and had little or no success at getting a job. They almost, always ran away from home. Therefore, the only two sources of income for them was sex trade and begging. They were arrested by authorities, tortured and demeaned. This book, the story of a transgender woman named Revathi and her activism, is an eye opener. The trials and tribulations this community has had to endure and is still enduring is unfathomable. We now have NGOs or non profit organizations getting involved to fight for basic human rights for them. Thank goodness for that, although they have a long way to go.
May 20, 2017
In a tragic portrait of transgender life in India, A. Revathi’s memoir A Life in Trans Activism shows us the power of coming forward and telling our story. Through telling her own story and the stories of other members of the transgender community, Revathi exposes the horrific violence inflicted upon the transgender community in India by the police, the public, the medical community, and their own families. Please visit my blog at http://gayreadersforum.com/ to read more of my thoughts on this memoir and other queer works.
December 12, 2024
What a powerful book. The first half focuses on Revathi's life and work. Roughly a third to a half focuses on interviews with trans men.
Taken together, it's such a raw and powerful look at the struggles of trans people in India over the last few decades, the work towards equality, and the colossal amount of oppression that trans people face. Revathi is frank about how things work, why she felt burnt by her work in NGOs, her losses, and the lives she tried to touch.
It's a moving piece of work. I feel like it's something I'll be processing for a while to come.
Taken together, it's such a raw and powerful look at the struggles of trans people in India over the last few decades, the work towards equality, and the colossal amount of oppression that trans people face. Revathi is frank about how things work, why she felt burnt by her work in NGOs, her losses, and the lives she tried to touch.
It's a moving piece of work. I feel like it's something I'll be processing for a while to come.
February 5, 2020
I especially appreciated the last 5 chapters which she dedicated to uplifting the voices of Indian trans-masculine people. She explains how they don't have a community of their own and are often rejected even by the 'hijra' community. This amazing human being has survived heartbreaking cruelty and continues to flight for trans people in rural India. This book left me feeling deep gratitude and the awareness that we must keep fighting for our less fortunate trans siblings.
June 10, 2019
It's an empathetic narrative that gives voice to its interviewees. It lives up to the trust they place in the author in opening up about their turbulent lives. What stuck with me is the multi-fold vulnerability and invisibility of female to male trans people since they are born female in our patriarchal society.
February 23, 2025
This is such an eye-opening account and as the author says, if only more people read it there would be sweeping changes in India. It’s such a radical narrative, often super painful to read, but highly necessary.
July 26, 2016
From semi-divine status to sex workers, Transgenders in our society have seen it all. In A Life in Trans Activism, A Revathi shares her journey towards the development of the sect, which was once considered as lucky and auspicious if they give you a boon, and now they are just victims of society's prejudice and corruption.
In her previous book, The Truth About Me, A Revathi has shared her personal struggle to accept what she really was, a woman trapped inside a male body. She shares her struggle towards acceptance and then being proud of the choice that she made, to live like a transgender. In A Life in Trans Activism, Revathi shares her experience of helping other people of her committee, how she became the first transgender woman to get a passport from Indian authorities, how she shared these issues at a national and international level.
A Life in Trans Activism starts with Revathi's story, a background of which I have already read in her previous book. She shares how she used to feel left out among kids her age, how she was constantly being mocked in her locality for walking like a woman and dressing like a woman. Once she decided to live like a woman only, she got in touch with a transgender community and asked them to take her in. She became a Chela and started learning the customary things to follow to achieve the position of a proper woman in the community.
The only mistake she made was getting her castration surgery done without proper two years of service as a Chela. She went under a sex change operation and started serving as a sex worker. And the hardship she goes through has been mentioned in such a way that will shake you up. The grotesque behavior of customers and police will leave you stumped! Whatever she used to earn, most of it was taken away by the head of her house where she used to serve and rest bribing away the goons who made her life a living hell. One day, going against the customs and traditions of the community, she became a mother for three Chelas whom she treated like her own blood and sweat. And this adoption changed a lot in her life. Through one of her Chelas, she came across an organization called Sangama, which puts Transgender rights forward in the society. Here, Revathi found herself a new purpose, a reason for existence. Further, she shares other stories from her life, stories that may give you a glimpse into the society that is so fake and treacherous and doesn't take seconds to mark someone as an unnatural or outcast.
A Life in Trans Activism is a story that makes you sit up straight and think hard and strong over the years, how we have treated transgenders amongst ourselves and how much our leaders have done for them. Yes, there have been changes now, a new gender in every form and some jobs. But what we haven't given them is the recognition and acceptance. We still consider them as unnatural humans, we still think in black and white. We still feel that many of them are faking to earn some money by begging. We still consider them as unsocial elements and make sure to stay as much as we can, away from them. And yet, when a new child comes into our home, we make sure to invite them to our home and celebrate with us. We still use their presence to ward off evil in our lives, but we don't work on the evil and narrow thinking that prevails in our mind.
A Life in Trans Activism is a book that many of us won't try and read. But then we humans have a history of being ignorant in our approach and thinking towards something different. So, today I ask you to pick up A Life in Trans Activism and read. Read it for a better world, to open our mind and heart towards fellow human beings whom we have ignored and despised for too long. Their anatomy may seem complicated to you, but once you read about it, you will be one of the many who would have taken a step towards making a country that doesn't just think in black and white, but also in color.
In her previous book, The Truth About Me, A Revathi has shared her personal struggle to accept what she really was, a woman trapped inside a male body. She shares her struggle towards acceptance and then being proud of the choice that she made, to live like a transgender. In A Life in Trans Activism, Revathi shares her experience of helping other people of her committee, how she became the first transgender woman to get a passport from Indian authorities, how she shared these issues at a national and international level.
A Life in Trans Activism starts with Revathi's story, a background of which I have already read in her previous book. She shares how she used to feel left out among kids her age, how she was constantly being mocked in her locality for walking like a woman and dressing like a woman. Once she decided to live like a woman only, she got in touch with a transgender community and asked them to take her in. She became a Chela and started learning the customary things to follow to achieve the position of a proper woman in the community.
The only mistake she made was getting her castration surgery done without proper two years of service as a Chela. She went under a sex change operation and started serving as a sex worker. And the hardship she goes through has been mentioned in such a way that will shake you up. The grotesque behavior of customers and police will leave you stumped! Whatever she used to earn, most of it was taken away by the head of her house where she used to serve and rest bribing away the goons who made her life a living hell. One day, going against the customs and traditions of the community, she became a mother for three Chelas whom she treated like her own blood and sweat. And this adoption changed a lot in her life. Through one of her Chelas, she came across an organization called Sangama, which puts Transgender rights forward in the society. Here, Revathi found herself a new purpose, a reason for existence. Further, she shares other stories from her life, stories that may give you a glimpse into the society that is so fake and treacherous and doesn't take seconds to mark someone as an unnatural or outcast.
A Life in Trans Activism is a story that makes you sit up straight and think hard and strong over the years, how we have treated transgenders amongst ourselves and how much our leaders have done for them. Yes, there have been changes now, a new gender in every form and some jobs. But what we haven't given them is the recognition and acceptance. We still consider them as unnatural humans, we still think in black and white. We still feel that many of them are faking to earn some money by begging. We still consider them as unsocial elements and make sure to stay as much as we can, away from them. And yet, when a new child comes into our home, we make sure to invite them to our home and celebrate with us. We still use their presence to ward off evil in our lives, but we don't work on the evil and narrow thinking that prevails in our mind.
A Life in Trans Activism is a book that many of us won't try and read. But then we humans have a history of being ignorant in our approach and thinking towards something different. So, today I ask you to pick up A Life in Trans Activism and read. Read it for a better world, to open our mind and heart towards fellow human beings whom we have ignored and despised for too long. Their anatomy may seem complicated to you, but once you read about it, you will be one of the many who would have taken a step towards making a country that doesn't just think in black and white, but also in color.
June 29, 2016
An important book on NGO Politics in Transgender community and a good introduction to Indian FTM Female to Male Transgender community, Must Read.
July 18, 2025
Really good
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