Matt Kane, GLAAD's Associate Director of Entertainment Media
Outsourced Episode Highlights the South Asian Hijra Community
http://glaadblog.org/2011/05/06/outsourced-episode-highlights-the-south-asian-hijra-community/NBC's comedy Outsourced has introduced a variety of Indian cultural elements to an American audience through its depiction of a call center in Mumbai, as was the case in last night's episode when an impromptu bachelor party thrown for the center's boss included an appearance by an Indian hijra. Depictions of transgender people are rare enough on television as it is, and depictions of them in other cultural contexts are rarer still. While it may not have been an ideal depiction, the show's introduction of hijra to a US audience at least opens the door for American audiences to learn more about a long-historied Indian cultural phenomenon and a vulnerable minority group fighting for legal recognition and protections in their home country.
