Mariette Pathy Allen - Transcendents: Spirit Mediums...

2017, Burma, Eli Coleman, English, Mariette Pathy Allen, Thailand, Zackary Drucker,

Full title: "Transcendents: Spirit Mediums in Burma and Thailand" by Mariette Pathy Allen, with Zackary Drucker (Foreword), and Eli Coleman (Contributor).

"In collaboration with Dr. Eli Coleman, professor and director of the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota, Transcendents studies the phenomenon of gender variance among the spirit cults of Burma and Thailand. This book combines a raw, personal, photographic standpoint with an anthropological and sexological perspective on the genderfluid spirit mediums in Thailand and Burma."

According to Mariette's website, Mariette Pathy Allen has been photographing the transgender community for over 40 years. Through her artistic practice, she has been a pioneering force in gender consciousness, contributing to numerous cultural and academic publications about gender variance and lecturing throughout the globe.

Her first book "Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them" was groundbreaking in its investigation of a misunderstood community. Her second book "The Gender Frontier" is a collection of photographs, interviews, and essays covering political activism, youth, and the range of people that identify as transgender in mainland USA. It won the 2004 Lambda Literary Award in the Transgender/Genderqueer category. Daylight Books has published Mariette’s books, “TransCuba” in 2014, and her new book "Transcendents: Spirit Mediums in Burma and Thailand" in 2017.

In 2023, I interviewed Mariette and asked her about the photos in the book: "I knew Professor Eli Coleman who was the head of the Department of Human Sexuality at the Medical School at the University of Minnesota as well as the President of WPATH. He studied the areas in the world where gender-variant people were important members of their cultures. He had been to Burma and Thailand many times and we decided to collaborate on a book." "Monika: Thailand is known for being one of the most friendly countries for transgender women but Burma is rather unknown in this respect. Mariette: What we’re referring to here are Spirit Mediums. They are honored and respected because they are the catalysts through which messages from the Spirits are conveyed. This animistic tradition existed before Buddhism. Usually in the past, the Mediums were women, but over time they could be men (mostly gay) and transgender people. They are in no way related to “Lady Boys” who tend to be entertainers and sex workers."

Available via Amazon

and mariettepathyallen.com

Heroines of My Life

Photo via Heroines of My Life