Aravani Girl. India's Gender Conflicts

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Sixteen-year-olds Palani and Karthik want to become "ladyboys." They're bullied in school and beaten by their families. Their parents would like to see them grow up as normal boys, but they're falling into the world of the Aravanis dance troupe. Loved as dance performers but hated as homosexuals, they symbolize the inner conflicts of India's gender culture today. "I felt like a girl when I was seven years old," says Karthik. "Now I find there are many like me!" "I don't want to live a bad life," says Palani, who understands the social exclusion he faces, "I worry about my future." Here is a powerful story of the loss of innocence in a culture struggling to come to terms with homosexuality.