69:, which was considered a rite of passage to get formally initiated into the hijra household. After her operation, she was rechristened as Revathi by the guru or head of the household. Though she could finally be true to her gender identity, Revathi discovered the harsh realities of life as a hijra, where social exclusion, violence and sexual assault were all too common. She had to resort to several odd jobs to survive including dancing at weddings, begging and sex work. After some months, tired of her life in Delhi, she ran away and went back home, where she discovered she was not welcome.
54:, and was assigned a male gender based on physiology. As a child, Revathi experienced violence in her school and within her family for her "feminine" ways. She preferred playing with young girls over boys and dressed up as a woman in her mother's clothes, distressed by the feeling of being a female trapped in a male body. Her personal and social hardships affected her academic performance, and she had to drop out of school as a result, having failed the tenth grade. However, when she first met a group of people from the
80:, an NGO working for the rights of sexual minorities. Here, she was exposed to activist meetings and learnt more about her rights. While she started off as a peon in the organisation, she rose in the ranks and finally ended up as the director. Two sources mention a brief marriage with a coworker at Sangama. She works now as a transgender-rights activist based in Bangalore.
96:(Our Lives, Our Words), in 2004. It is a collection of real life stories of the people belonging to the Hijra community in South India. She credits the book with inspiring other hijra writers to publish their own books, such as Priya Babu's
115:. According to Revathi, she initially released the book in English and not Tamil to avoid conflict with her family, who featured in her book and did not speak English. The book was eventually published in Tamil as
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community during a school trip to
Nammakal, she felt a sense of kinship and decided to run away to Delhi with them so that she could be true to her gender identity.
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461:"Transgender activist Revathi's name is up on a banner at Columbia University alongside the likes of Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison"
202:"Writing a Life Between Gender Lines: Conversations with A.Revathi about Her Autobiography "The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story""
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320:"The Razor's Edge of Oppositionality: Exploring the Politics of Rights-Based Activism by Transgender Women in Tamil Nadu"
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305:"We want to live as women, and we want our dignity: A Revathi - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis"
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Following this, she decided to write about her own experiences. She published her second book,
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for work. While she initially took to sex work, she finally got a job at
291:"The Truth About Me—A Hijra Life Story Book Review By Yoginder Sikand"
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She subsequently left her home in Tamil Nadu and moved to
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Revathi made her acting debut in the 2008 Tamil film
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literature syllabus. In 2019, her name was put up at
495:, 19 May 2008, Filmibeat.com, Retrieved 12 June 2016
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Two trans-genders to play lead roles in Tamil films
153:and remained there throughout the fall semester.
262:"The complexities of the genderscape in India"
145:in Columbia University, along with names like
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389:"The life of a hijra and a tale well told"
119:in 2011. She cites a very prominent Tamil
232:Revathi, A.; Geetha, V. (1 August 2010).
178:, a transgender actress from Tamil Nadu.
84:Her literary work and other achievements
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26:-based writer and activist working for
135:The Truth about me: A Hijra Life story
109:The Truth about Me: A Hijra Life Story
16:Indian writer and LGBT rights activist
459:Kannadasan, Akila (14 October 2019).
266:Seminar a Journal of Germanic Studies
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234:Truth about Me: A Hijra Life Story
46:Revathi was born as Doraiswamy in
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583:21st-century Indian women writers
440:Shrikumar, A. (23 October 2014).
127:as one of her main inspirations.
563:21st-century Indian LGBT people
167:. In 2022, she appeared in the
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588:21st-century Indian actresses
578:Transgender rights activists
573:Indian LGBT rights activists
568:Indian transgender actresses
325:. p. 20. Archived from
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558:Indian transgender writers
548:Transgender women writers
543:Hijra (South Asia) people
442:"Making gender flexible"
200:Prabhu, Gayatri (2014).
50:in the Indian state of
538:Writers from Bangalore
408:"Voice for visibility"
356:"Voice for visibility"
593:Indian film actresses
332:on 21 September 2018
67:sex-change operation
28:LGBT rights in India
100:(2007) and Vidya's
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164:Thenavattu
102:I am Vidya
52:Tamil Nadu
510:Time.News
473:0971-751X
465:The Hindu
446:The Hindu
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412:The Hindu
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360:The Hindu
113:V. Geetha
74:Bangalore
24:Bangalore
20:A Revathi
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172:Antharam
104:(2008).
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