Commonwealth Scholarships for Master’s and PhD study – developing Commonwealth country citizens

Commonwealth Scholarships for Master’s and PhD study in the UK are offered for citizens of developing Commonwealth countries. These scholarships are funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the aim of contributing to the UK’s international development aims and wider overseas interests, supporting excellence in UK higher education, and sustaining the principles of the Commonwealth. For information on other scholarships offered by the CSC, visit our Apply page.
You can apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship for the following levels of study:

• Master’s (one-year courses only)
• PhD

All subject areas are eligible, although the CSC’s selection criteria give priority to applications that demonstrate the strongest relevance to development.
You should apply to study at a UK university with which the CSC has a part funding agreement. Click here for a list of UK universities which have part funding agreements with the CSC

Eligibility

To apply for these scholarships, you must:

• Be a Commonwealth citizen, refugee, or British protected person
• Be permanently resident in a developing Commonwealth country
• Be available to start your academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September/October 2017
• By October 2017, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours standard, or a second class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree)

The CSC promotes equal opportunity, gender equity, and cultural exchange. Applications are encouraged from a diverse range of candidates. The CSC is committed to administering and managing its scholarships and fellowships in a fair and transparent manner – for more information, see the CSC anti-fraud policy.

Terms and conditions

For full terms and conditions, see the Commonwealth Scholarships 2017 terms and conditions
If you are applying for PhD study, you may, if you wish, propose to study at one university for a four-year PhD, but this must be based in a recognised Doctoral Training Centre. You must research this option thoroughly (further details can be found on the websites of the individual Research Councils in the UK) and justify the added value of this above a three-year PhD. As the CSC will fund only a limited number of four-year PhDs, if you do choose this option, you are strongly advised to also propose at least one three-year PhD choice.

Selection process

Each year, the CSC invites selected nominating bodies to submit a specific number of nominations. The deadline for nominating bodies to submit nominations to the CSC is 13 December 2016.
The CSC invites around three times more nominations than scholarships available – therefore, nominated candidates are not guaranteed to be awarded a scholarship. There are no quotas for scholarships for any individual country. Candidates nominated by national nominating agencies are in competition with those nominated by other nominating bodies, and the same standards will be applied to applications made through either channel.
Each nominated candidate’s application is first considered by a member of the CSC’s panel of advisers with expertise in the subject area concerned, and then by the CSC’s selection committee in competition with other candidates.
Applications are considered according to the following selection criteria:

• Academic merit of the candidate
• Quality of the plan of study
• Potential impact of the work on the development of the candidate’s home country

For further details, see the Selection criteria for 2017 Commonwealth Scholarships for Master’s and PhD study
You may also find the Feedback for unsuccessful candidates useful.

How to apply

You must apply to one of the following nominating bodies in the first instance – the CSC does not accept direct applications for these scholarships:

• National nominating agencies – this is the main route of application. Click here for a list of national nominating agencies, with contact details
• Selected universities/university bodies, which can nominate their own academic staff. Click here for a list of nominating universities/university bodies
• Selected non-governmental organisations and charitable bodies

All applications must be made through your nominating body in your home country. Each nominating body is responsible for its own selection process. You must check with your nominating body for their specific advice and rules for applying, their own eligibility criteria, and their own closing date for applications. The CSC does not impose any age limit on applicants, but nominating bodies may do so in line with their own priorities.
You must make an application using the CSC’s Electronic Application System (EAS), in addition to any other application form that you are required to complete by your nominating body. Click here for full information on how to use the EAS, including detailed guides.
Your application must be submitted to and endorsed by one of the approved nominating bodies listed above. The CSC will not accept any applications that are not submitted via the EAS to a nominating body in your home country.
All applications must be submitted by 23.59 (GMT) on 15 November 2016 at the latest.
You are advised to complete and submit your application as soon as possible, as the EAS will be very busy in the days leading up to the application deadline.
You must provide the following supporting documentation to be received by the CSC by 6 January 2017 in order for your application to be eligible for consideration:

• References from at least two individuals
• Transcripts
• For PhD candidates only, supporting statement from a proposed supervisor in the UK from at least one of the institutions named on your application form

How to use the EAS
Please note that the CSC does not charge candidates to apply for any of its scholarships or fellowships through its Electronic Application System (EAS), and it does not charge organisations to nominate candidates.

Choosing a university/course

You may find the following resources useful when researching your choices of institution and course of study in the UK:

• Education UK (British Council) – British Council website, with guidance for international students and a course and institution search
• Postgrad.com – information for postgraduate students, with a course search
• Prospects – information on postgraduate study in the UK
• Research Excellent Framework 2014 results – results of a system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions
• Steps to Postgraduate Study – a guide to asking the right questions about taught postgraduate study in the UK
• UCAS Postgraduate – guidance on how to find and apply for a postgraduate course
• Unistats – the official website for comparing UK higher education course data
• UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs) – advice for international students on choosing a course of study

The CSC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Enquiries?

All enquiries about these scholarships should be directed to your nominating body in your home country.

நீலக் குறிஞ்சி

மலையெல்லாம் நீலக்குறிஞ்சிகள்
பூத்த வருடம் நான் பிறந்ததாக
பாட்டி சொன்னாள்

இளமை தளிர் கொண்ட காலத்தில்
மலைவெளியில் அப்பூக்கள்
மீண்டும் பூத்த போது மழையின் நிறம் நீலம்
எனக் கண்டுணர்ந்தேன்
குறிச்சிப் பூக்களின் நீலவெளிச்சம்
தொடுவானில் பிரதிபலிப்பதை தரிசிக்கையில்
காத்திருப்பின் கனியும் அந்நிறத்தில்
தான் இருந்தது
கித்தார் மரத்து பூக்களின் வாசனை
கண்டடையாத காதலனின் உருவத்தை
ஆழ் மனதில் வரையத் துவங்கியது
வரையாடுகளின் சினைப்பருவ காலத்தை
வனாந்தரம் மறைத்து வைப்பது போலவே
தளிருடலை மறைத்து வைக்கத் துவங்கினேன்
நீர்கடம்ப மரத்தின் தாகத்தை
சிற்றோடைகள் அறியும் சமயம்
வேர்கள் சர்ப்பநடனமிடும்
காட்டுவாசியின் இசை
வெறுமையின் துல்லிய உண்டியலில்
சேர்க்ப்படுவதை அறிவேன்
பூம்பாறைப் பூக்களின் ஆகிருதியை
தாங்கயிலாது மனம்
பனிப் பாறைகளில் சறுக்கும்
காத்திருப்பு தனிமையில் இடறுவது
பள்ளத்தாக்கிலிருந்து குறிஞ்சிப் பூஞ்சருகுகள் வீழ்வது
நீலத்தின் நிவறுதல் நிலைமொழியாய்
வானத்திற்கு ஏகியதும் இங்கணமே
காட்டில் தான் நீலக்குறிஞ்சி பூக்கும்
காத்திருந்து காதலனோடு தரிசிக்கவும்
நாம் இங்கிருந்து வாழ்ந்து போன பிறகும்
--தேன்மொழி தாஸ்
19.8.2016

கொல்கத்தா பாடசாலை ஒன்றினால் பெற்றோருக்கு அனுப்பி வைக்கப்பட்ட கடிதம் ஒன்று....

அன்பார்ந்த பெற்றோர்களே!

உங்களுடைய பிள்ளைகளுக்கான பரீட்சை விரைவில் ஆரம்பமாகவுள்ளது.

பிள்ளைகள் சிறப்பாக பரீட்சையை செய்ய வேண்டும் என்பதில் ஆர்வமாய் இருப்பீர்கள் என நம்புகின்றோம்.
எனினும் இந்த விடயங்களையும் கவனத்திற் கொள்ளுமாறு பணிவாய்க் கேட்டுக் கொள்கின்றோம்.
பரீட்சைக்குத் தோற்றும் மாணவர்களுல்..
ஒரு கலைஞன் இருப்பான்
அவனுக்கு கணிதம் தேவைப்படாது.
அங்கே ஒரு தொழிலதிபர் இருப்பான்
அவனுக்கு வரலாறு / இலக்கியம் முக்கியமில்லை.
ஒரு இசைஞானி இருப்பான்
அவனுக்கு இரசாயனவியல் அவசியமிறாது.
ஒரு விளையாட்டு வீரனிருப்பான்
அவனது உடல் நலனே முக்கியமன்றி
பெளதீகவியல் புள்ளி முக்கியமில்லை.
பரீட்சையில் அதிக புள்ளி எடுத்தால் சிறந்த பிள்ளை.. எடுக்காவிட்டால்..
தயவு செய்து அவர்களது தன்நம்பிக்கையைப் பறித்து விடாதீர்கள்.
சொல்லுங்கள் அவர்களுக்கு இது வெறும் ஒரு பரீட்சை மட்டுமே.
நீ வாழ்கையில் வெற்றி கொள்ளக்கூடிய இதை விட பெரிய சவால்கள் நிறைய உள்ளன.
உன் மீதுள்ள என் அன்பு நீ பரீட்சையில் எடுக்கும் புள்ளியை வைத்து தீர்மானிப்பதில்லை.
என்றும் நீ என் பிள்ளை என் உயிர். இப்படி செய்து பாருங்கள்ப ரீட்சையை வெல்லாத உங்கள் பிள்ளை ஒரு நாள் உலகை வெல்வான்.
வெறுமனே ஒரு பரீட்சை, அதன் புள்ளி உங்கள் பிள்ளையின் கணவை, திறமகளை அழித்து விடக்கூடாது.
வைத்தியர்களும் பொருயியலாலர்களும் மட்டுமே உலகில் சிறந்தவர்கள், மகிழ்ச்சியாய் இருப்பவர்கள் என தயவு செய்து நினைக்காதீர்கள்.
உங்களுக்கும் பிள்ளைகளுக்கும் எமது நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்.
-அதிபர்-

Kindly spare your valuable 40 secs to watch this video.

SHRI KRISHNA

The Pyramids, Egypt, and their alignment with the constellation of Orion

The three pyramids of Giza are a perfect reproduction of the 3 stars of Orion’s belt:

• Like the pyramids, the three stars of Orion are not perfectly aligned, the smallest of them is slightly offset to the East.
• All three are slanted in a Southwesterly direction (Note the exact match in the animation).
• Their orientation to the Nile recreates Orion’s orientation to the Milky Way.
• The layout of the pyramids, and their relative sizes were a deliberate design plan, and not the result of three king’s enormous egos as been preached as dogma by the so-called Egyptologists.

Robert Bauval has spent the last ten years investigating the pyramids themselves and the Pyramid Texts, the oldest writings known to mankind.

He and Adrian Gilbert have uncovered for the first time the key to the plan that governed the construction of the pyramids. They reveal in "The Orion Mystery" that the pyramids were much more than just tombs: they were nothing less than a replica of Heaven on Earth (The constellation of Orion, or known to the Egyptians as Osiris).

With great astronomical precision, the pyramids were created to serve as the pharaoh’s gateway to the stars.

 

The correlation between the Giza Pyramids and Orion’s belt

This is an aerial picture of the Memphite Necropolis Site at Giza, south-west of Cairo. Look carefully at the way the Pyramids are aligned.

 

At first glance they seem to be imperfectly positioned. Classical Egyptologists maintain that this was either a mistake or a result of the terrain in the Giza Plateau.

 

Compare this to the image of the Belt Stars of Orion and things become a little clearer.

 

Far from being a mistake, the Pyramids are aligned almost exactly as the Belt Stars appear!

Ancient Alien Atomic Bomb

Ancient Aliens: “Atomic warfare among ancient civilizations may sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but descriptions of similar deadly occurrences can be found in the very same text doctor Oppenheimer quoted after the New Mexico atomic test.” So the Ancient Astronaut theory claims that the Mahabharata speaks of nuclear warfare. Let’s see what specifically they say it says: AA: “One reference that we have, for example, speaks of these explosions that were brighter than a thousand suns. And when these blasts occurred the suns were twirling in the air; trees went up in flames and there was just this mass destruction. After those blasts, people who survive started to lose their hair and nails started to fall out. I mean, right there, we have a concise reference to radiation poisoning; nuclear fallout – and those texts are thousands of years old.” The Mahabharata actually doesn’t say any of that. These exact claims about the hair and nails falling off and an explosion brighter than a thousand suns have been repeated by Ancient Astronaut theorists so many times that they think it’s true, but the origin of this line was from a French book called “Morning of the Magicians”  No one that makes this claim will actually site where in the Mahabharata this claim appears. Which makes it very difficult for people to call them out on this, because the Mahabharata contains over 1.8 million words, so if you just say, “it’s in there somewhere, just trust me,” you can pretty much get away with anything. As you might have guessed by now, they have a really good reason for covering their tracks by not siting a reference. For instance, let’s consider the claim about the people’s hair and nails falling out because of this weapon. First of all, there was no weapon involved in that story, it was a part of a bad omen, and this is what it actually says: “The streets swarmed with rats and mice; earthen pots showed cracks or broken from no apparent cause. At night, the rats and mice ate away the hair and nails of slumbering men.”So rats chewed them off, it wasn’t a result of: “Nuclear fallout” What about the bomb blast that was brighter than a thousand suns? Here’s what the passage actually says: “Gratified with him, the holy one then showed Utanka that eternal Vaishnava form which Dhananjaya of great intelligence had seen. Utanka beheld the high-souled Vasudeva of universal form, endued with mighty-arms. The effulgence of that form was like that of a blazing fire or a thousand suns. It stood before him filling all space. It had faces on every side. Behold the high and wonderful Vaishnava form of Vishnu. In fact, seeing the Supreme Lord in that guise, the Brahmana Utanka became filled with wonder.Jason Colavito says the following about this: “This passage, which mentions the ten thousand suns, refers to an appearance of Vishnu. It is representative of many, many passages in which the standard poetic line “ten thousand suns” is used to describe a deity. It does not refer to the specific flash of a nuclear blast unless one imagines the gods to be exploding.” If you would like to know more about the deceitful misquoting of ancient texts as it relates to this idea of ancient nuclear weapons, see Jason Colavito’s excellent book:

“Ancient Atom Bombs: Fact, Fraud, and the Myth of Prehistoric Nuclear Warfare”

Let’s move on to Ancient Aliens’ next line of evidence for this point, which is all centered around an ancient city – now archeological site – called Mohenjo Daro in Pakistan. Ancient Aliens claims that there was a nuclear bomb dropped there in the ancient past, they give several reasons to believe this: AA: “Skeletons were found lying face down in the street – many holding hands. Their faces and body positioning suggested they suffered a sudden, violent death.” AA: “You have a culture of people who literally were lying dead in the street. Archaeologists have found human remains and something big has happened to these people.” AA: “Why is there evidence that wild animals avoided scavenging their remains, and why, even after thousands of years, have their bones not decayed?” AA: “In certain areas of that site you find increased levels of radiation.” AA: “British researcher David Davenport claimed to have found a 50-yard-wide epicenter at Mohenjo Daro where everything appeared to have been fused through a transformative process known as vitrification.” AA: “Vitrification is a process in which regular-type stone gets molten into a magma state, and then it hardens again. But once the stone is hardened again it feels like glass. At Mohenjo Daro we find evidence of vitrification, which could have only have been achieved if the material was exposed to extreme heat by some type of blast.” Ok so let’s list these points:

• Skeletons, one set holding hands, which they say appear to have died at the same instant.
• No evidence of scavengers.
• Remarkably well preserved bones.
• The presence of radiation at the site.
• An epicenter where vitrification is present.

That sounds like a pretty convincing case for nuclear warfare at Mohenjo Daro – well, assuming any of that is true, and considering Ancient Aliens’ track record we had better investigate these claims. One of the first problems with this theory is the city itself. Its buildings are still intact, some of which are 15 ft. high. And they are made out of mud, so you would think a nuclear weapon whose main destructive power is in the force of its blast wave would be able to topple a few mud-brick buildings. But moving on, what about these skeletons? Ancient Aliens makes it sound like a lot of skeletons were found when in fact only 37 were found. And not only do these 37 bodies show no signs of dying suddenly, the date of their deaths vary sometimes as much as a thousand years from one another. None of the archeologists involved thought these skeletons suggested a sudden catastrophe. And to make matters worse for Ancient Aliens all of the bodies were buried!The idea that they were laying around in the streets isn’t true. In fact almost everything Ancient Aliens said about this is completely untrue. The fact that they didn’t die in the same instant and the fact that they were buried in the normal way explains why there were no signs of scavengers. What about the remarkable well preserved bones? This can be chalked up to Mohenjo Daro being literally one of the hottest places on earth, with temperatures reaching 128 degrees. And because it’s also really dry, it is a perfect climate for preservation. In fact this is also probably the reason the mud-brick buildings are still standing as well. The problem with the claims about there being radiation at Mohenjo Daro is that we don’t know where this claim came from. It certainly wasn’t any of the scientists involved with the Mohenjo Daro digs that claimed it, and the Ancient Astronaut theorists don’t site any references with which to check this claim, so until the presence of radiation can be proven to exist at the site, there is no reason to address it. What about this epicenter of vitrification? Well, according to archeologists it wasn’t exactly an epicenter of anything. It was a small amount of broken pottery which, because pottery is put in a fire to harden it, it contains a specific type of vitrification called Frit. They threw in the word epicenter to make it seem more legitimate. But there is no epicenter of anything except pottery at this site. But this brings up an important point: Mohenjo Daro is not the only site that Ancient Astronaut theorists claim vitrification exists as a result of ancient atom bombs. So it would be instructive for us to look at sand vitrification and its different causes in order to address those claims. For example there is Fulgurite, which is sand fused by a lightning bolt. There is Tektite, which is sand fused by the compressed force of a meteorite. There is Frit which is partially fused sand and other chemicals in the presence of heated pottery – that’s what was found at Mohenjo Daro. Finally there is Trinitite which is vitrified sand caused by a nuclear explosion. So we first saw that the Mahabharata did not claim anything like what Ancient Aliens said it did. We saw that the bodies at Mohenjo Daro were not killed in a sudden disaster; in fact they died a thousand years apart in some cases, and were clearly buried. The cases of radiation are a non-factor. The vitrification was caused by pottery, and we noted that if it was a nuclear explosion it didn’t even knock down the mud-brick houses which are still standing at the site.

---

[1] Colavito, Jason. “THE CASE OF THE FALSE QUOTATIONS, How Ancient Astronaut Theorists Faked Hindu Nuclear Explosion.” JasonColavito.com, n.d. http://www.jasoncolavito.com/the-case-of-the-false-quotes.html.

[2] Mahabharata, Mausala Parva, sec. 2

[3] Mahabharata, Acwamedha Parva, Section LV (Ganguili Vol. 16)”

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohenjo-daro#Architecture_and_urban_infrastructure

[5] http://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/6-3/The%20Mythical.pdf

[6] http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Mohenjo-daro#cite_note-dalesa-2

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES

ரிட்டையர்ட் ஆன ஒருத்தர் (பெஞ்சமின்) தான் கோர்ட்ல வேலை செஞ்சப்போ நடந்த ஒரு கொலை கேசை பற்றி ஒரு நாவல் எழுத முயற்சிக்கிறார்.... சரியான ஆரம்பம் கிடைக்காததால.. நடந்த சம்பவங்களை ஞாபகபடுத்திக்க தற்போது அந்த அலுவலகத்தில் வேலை செய்யும் தன் முன்னாள் காதலியை சந்திக்க போறார்...

அவங்க மறுபடி அந்த கேசை தோண்ட... முன்னாடி நடந்த பழைய சம்பவங்கள் ஃப்ளாஷ்பேக்கா விரியுது...

"ஒரு கொலையை ஆர்வமில்லாமல் பார்க்க போறார் பெஞ்சமின்.. நிர்வானமா கொலை செய்யபட்டு கிடக்கும் பெண்ணின் பேரழகை பார்த்து மனதளவில் கடுமையா பாதிக்கபடுறார்.. அந்த பெண்ணின் கணவர் அந்த பெண்ணின் மேல் வைத்திருக்கும் அபரிதமான காதலை கண்டு... கொலையாளியை எப்படியும் கண்டு பிடிக்கிறதுன்னு முடிவெடுக்கிறார்..

பெஞ்சமின்னும் அவருடைய நண்பரும் சேர்ந்து சின்ன சின்ன க்ளூக்கள் மூலமா அந்த கொலையாளியை கண்டுபிடிக்கிறாங்க.. ஆனால் பெஞ்சமின் மேல இருக்கும் முன் பகையை மனசில வைத்து ஒரு அரசாங்க அதிகாரி... அவனை ரிலீஸ் செய்றார்... சீக்கிரமே பெஞ்சமின் நண்பர் கொலை செய்யபடுறார்...

அடுத்து கொலையாளி தன்னை நோக்கி தான் வருவான்னு புரிஞ்சிட்டு ஊரை விட்டு போய்விடுகிறார்... 25 ஆண்டுகள் கழித்து அவருடைய மனதை உறுத்தி கொண்டிருக்கும் பல கேள்விகளோட கொலை செய்யபட்ட பெண்ணின் கணவர், தன் காதலி, நண்பன் கொலையில் இருந்த ஒரு புதிர்ன்னு பலதை அலசுகிறார்....

அதில் கிடைக்கும் பதில்கள்.. திடீர் திருப்பங்கள்ன்னு சுவாரஸியமான ஒரு க்ரைம் த்ரில்லர்... அலட்டல்களும் வெட்டி ஹீரோசிமும் இல்லாத அருமையான வசனங்கள் கொண்ட 2009'ல் ஆஸ்கர் அடித்த திரைப்படம்... படம் பெயர் : The Secret in their eyes. (Spanish)

A Don't Miss Movie. :)

There is a long tradition of Hollywood co-opting the plots of well-regarded foreign films and then snuffing out the very qualities that made the originals feel fresh, unique and eminently remake-able. While it might remove the need for those pesky subtitles, these Americanized versions too often erase such essential elements as logic, subtext and  the sense of cultural relevance that made the title a standout in the first place.

For every success like “The Departed,” based on Hong Kong’s “Infernal Affairs,” there are countless inferior reinterpretations that often count on star power to compensate for a watered-down rendition, regularly changed to a box-office-friendlier PG-13 instead of a more honest R rating.

I will never forget the first few months of 1993. That was the ultimate winter of foreign remake discontent, when moviegoers were cruelly subjected to “The Vanishing” (a debasement of the same-titled Dutch chiller by the same director, no less), “Sommersby” (which sucked much of the magic out of the French arthouse sensation “The Return of Martin Guerre”) and “Point of No Return” (sorry, Bridget Fonda, you are not nor will you ever be “La Femme Nikita”).

Well, they’ve done it again—and, sad to say, none too well—with “The Secret in Their Eyes,” 2010’s foreign-language Oscar winner from Argentina. A smartly done, haunting crime thriller, revolving around a brutal 1974 rape-murder investigation that is re-opened 25 years later, the film charts the effect that the unsatisfactory conclusion to the case had on both the legal team and the victim’s devoted husband. It's a reflection of the country’s rampant government corruption at the time.

The complicated “who, what, where, when and how” aspects were handled expertly, especially a scene staged in a massively crowded soccer stadium. But what truly distinguished this superb film were the intense emotional connections brought to life by actors Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil, who look and acted like real humans, not prettified facsimiles. The agonizing unrequited love between Darin's justice agent and Villamil's department chief colored every bittersweet second of “The Secret of Their Eyes,” down to the agonizing final moments.

Now we have “Secret in Their Eyes.” (That the “The” has been awkwardly ditched is just one in a pile of wrong-headed moves.) Instead of Buenos Aires, the setting is the least-glamorous portions of Los Angeles. Why L.A.? Because the flashback parts of the story now take place in 2002, when the city was thought to be the next likeliest target for a terrorist attack after 9/11. That leaves the door open for the cutting of many corners and questionable ethics in the name of security but also proves to be a distraction from the core plot.

More damaging are the casting choices. Let’s start with the A-listers onscreen, beginning with Julia Roberts. There is nothing inherently wrong with changing the gender of the character that is related to the young female victim. Except that the connection involved—mother-and-daughter—no longer provides the same sort of echo of the unrequited love angle. That the parent is an FBI investigator initially directly involved in the case makes matters too personal for her and her co-workers. As one character rightly notes, “We’re not just crossing the line, we’re burying it.” They also are disposing with believability as a result.

“Secret in Their Eyes” also requires Roberts, who is kept at bay through much of the movie save for several  showy outbursts and the twist ending, to turn down her star wattage considerably even before she is grief-stricken. Anyone who recalls Roberts in “Mary Reilly” as Dr. Jekyll’s plain-Jane servant knows how well her fans take to a cinematic frump-over of their idol.

Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman as Roberts’ district attorney boss has a few strong scenes, including one with intensely sexual overtones, as she strives to make finding the killer a priority despite the fact that the prime suspect is a source of intel on a terrorist cell linked to a local mosque. But she also has to be incandescent enough to cause Roberts’ fellow FBI investigator, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, to gaze upon her like a googly-eyed schoolboy any time she slinks across his path. Too often Kidman, decked out in designer outfits as opposed to Roberts’ grunge garb, looks like she is floating through a perfume commercial. 

As for Ejiofor, who mesmerized in “12 Years a Slave,” he is not the problem even if he has more chemistry with character actor Dean Norris as sidekick Bumpy than he does with either female cohort. Also fulfilling their duties well are Michael Kelly, who knows his way around white-collar weasels lately thanks to his memorable work as Doug Stamper on Netflix’s “House of Cards,” and Alfred Molina as Kidman’s blustery higher-up.

But although a surprising number of plot machinations from the original film remain fully intact, usually accounting for anything that seems remotely clever, what is missing is the type of hold-your-breath tension provided by good thrillers. Neither the camerawork nor the editing between 2002 and the current timeline manages to stir up much excitement. Billy Ray, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter for his “Captain Phillips” script, deftly directed the journalism-scandal biopic “Shattered Glass.” But he falls flat here.

It may be unfair to compare the Argentine version with this inferior one, since most people probably haven’t seen the first. But even when taken on its own terms, “Secret in Their Eyes” amounts to a disappointment. The real secret here: Reading subtitles is better than sitting through a weak imitation.

மருத்துவநண்பர்களுக்குஒருமனசாட்சிக்கடிதம்‬ வைரமுத்து

மருத்துவமுறையை
மாற்றுங்கள் டாக்டர்.
வாயைத்திற என்பீர்கள்!
வயிறுதெரியும்படி
வாய்திறப்போம்!
நாக்கைநீட்டு என்பீர்கள்!
கல்கத்தா காளியாய்
நாக்கைநீட்டுவோம்!
முதுகைத்திருப்பி
மூச்சிழு என்பீர்கள்!
அப்போதுதான்
உண்மையாய் சுவாசிப்போம்!
அவ்வளவுதான்!
அஞ்சேல் என்று
அருள்வாக்குசொல்வீர்கள்!
வாசிக்கமுடியாத கையெழுத்தில்
வாயில்வராத பெயரெழுதி
காகிதங்கிழிப்பீர்கள்!
மூன்றுவேளை... என்னும்
தேசியகீதத்தை
இரண்டேவார்த்தையில்
பாடி முடிப்பீர்கள்!
போதாது டாக்டர்!
எங்கள்தேவை
இதில்லை டாக்டர்!
நோயாளி, பாமரன்!
சொல்லிக்கொடுங்கள்!
நோயாளி, மாணவன்!
கற்றுக்கொடுங்கள்!
வாய்வழிசுவாசிக்காதே!
காற்றைவடிகட்டும் ஏற்பாடு
வாயிலில்லையென்று
சொல்லுங்கள்!
சுவாசிக்கவும்
சூத்திரமுண்டு!
எத்துணை பாமரர்
இஃதறிவார்?
சுவாசிக்கப்படும் சுத்தக்காற்று
நுரையீரலின்
தரைதொடவேண்டும்!
தரையெங்கேதொடுகிறது?
தலைதானேதொடுகிறது!
சொல்லிக்கொடுங்கள்!
சாராயம் என்னும்
திரவத்தீயைத்தீண்டாதே!
கல்லீரல் எரிந்துவிடும்!
கல்லீரல் என்பது கழுதை!
பாரஞ்சுமக்கும்
படுத்தால் எழாது!
பயமுறுத்துங்கள்!
ஒருகால்வீக்கம்?
உடனேகவனி!
யானைக்காலின் அறிகுறி!
இருகால்வீக்கம்?
இப்போதேகவனி!
சிறுநீரகத்தில் சிக்கலிருக்கலாம்!
வாயிலென்ன
ஆறாதப்புண்ணா?
மார்பகப்பரப்பில்
கரையாதக்கட்டியா?
ஐம்பதுதொட்டதும்
பசியேயில்லையா?
சோதிக்கச்சொல்லுங்கள்!
அறியாத புற்றுநோய்
ஆனா ஆவன்னாவெழுதியிருக்கலாம்!
நோயாளியை
துக்கத்திலிருந்து
துரத்துங்கள் டாக்டர்!
நோயொன்றும் துக்கமல்ல!
அந்நியக்கசடுவெளியேற
உடம்புக்குள்நிகழும்
உள்நாட்டுயுத்தமது!
சர்க்கரையென்பது
வியாதியல்ல!
குறைபாடென்றுகூறுங்கள்!
செரிக்காதவுணவும் எரிக்காதசக்தியும்
சுடுகாட்டுத்தேரின் சக்கரங்களென்று
சொல்லுங்கள் டாக்டர்!
ஊமைஜனங்களிவர்
உள்ளொளியற்றவர்!
பிணிவந்து இறப்பினும்
முனிவந்து இறந்ததாய்முணுகுவர்!
சொல்லிக்கொடுங்கள்!
யோகம் என்பது
வியாதிதீர்க்கும்வித்தையென்று
சொல்லுங்கள்!
உயிர்த்தீயை உருட்டியுருட்டி
நெற்றிப்பொட்டில்நிறுத்தச்சொல்லுங்கள்!
உணவுமுறைதிருத்துங்கள்!
தட்டில்மிச்சம்வைக்காதே!
வயிற்றில்மிச்சம்வை!
பசியோடு உட்கார்!
பசியோடு எழுந்திரு!
சொல்லுங்கள் டாக்டர்!
அவிக்காதகாய்களே
அமிர்தமென்றுசொல்லுங்கள்!
பச்சையுணவுக்கு
பாடம்நடத்துங்கள்!
மருந்தையுணவாக்காதே!
உணவைமருந்தாக்கு!
மாத்திரைச்சிறைவிட்டு
மனிதனே வெளியேவா!
கோணாத ஒருவன்
கூனனானான்! ஏனாம்?
அவன் டப்பாவுணவுகளையே
உட்கொண்டதுதானாம்!
ஒருவனுக்கு
விஷப்பாம்புகடித்தும்
விஷமில்லை! ஏனாம்?
அவன் உப்பில்லாவுணவுகளையே
உட்கொண்டதுதானாம்!
ஆரோக்கியமனிதனுக்குத்தேவை
அரைகிராம் உப்புதானே!
மனிதா...
உப்பைக்கொட்டிக்கொட்டியே
உயிர்வளர்க்கிறாயே!
செடிகொடியா நீ?
சிந்திக்கச்சொல்லுங்கள்!
உண்மை இதுதான்!
மனிதனைத்தேடி மரணம்வருவதில்லை!
மரணத்தைத்தேடியே மனிதன் போகிறான்!
டாக்டர்...
எல்லாமனிதரையும்
இருகேள்விகேளுங்கள்!
"பொழுது
மலச்சிக்கலில்லாமல்
விடிகிறதா?
மனச்சிக்கலில்லாமல்
முடிகிறதா?
‪வைரமுத்து_காவிய_கவிஞனின்வரிகளிலிருந்து‬.....

நேதாஜி சுபாஷ் சந்திர போஸ்(இந்திய சுதந்திர போராட்டத்தின் உண்மையான கதையை அறிந்துகொள்ளுங்கள்.) நினைவு தினம் இன்று ஆகஸ்ட் 18

சுபாஷ் சந்திரபோஸ்... இந்தியர்களின் ஆயுதக் கையாளுமையை உலகறியச் செய்தவர். இந்தியாவுக்கு என முதல் ராணுவத்தைக் கட்டமைத்தவர். காந்தியை எதிர்த்த காங்கிரஸ் கலகக்காரர். மகாத்மா காந்தி மீது கொண்ட அன்பால் காந்தியை 'தேசப் பிதா' என்று முதன்முதலில் அழைத்தவரும் இவரே. தன் மரணத்தையே மர்மமாக்கியவர்.

1945-ம் ஆண்டு ஆகஸ்ட் 16-ம் தேதி பார்மோசா வழியாக மன்சூரியா செல்ல, நேதாஜி தன் தோழர் ஹபீப்புடன் விமானத்தில் ஏறினார். ஆகஸ்ட் 18-ம் தேதி தைபேவில் விமானத்தில் ஏற்பட்ட கோளாறினால் நேதாஜி இறந்தார் என்று சொல்லப்படுகிறது. ஆனால், தைவான் அரசாங்கமோ... அப்படி ஒரு விபத்தே நடக்கவில்லை என்கிறது. இதுவரை 12 கமிஷன்கள்வைத்து விசாரித்தும் ஒரு பயனும் இல்லை. நேதாஜியின் மரணம் இன்றும் மர்மமாக தான் இருக்கிறது.

கபிலரின் குறிஞ்சி பாட்டில் கூறிய 99 தமிழ் பூக்கள்...

1. காந்தள்
2. ஆம்பல்
3. அனிச்சம்
4. குவளை
5. குறிஞ்சி
6. வெட்சி
7. செங்கொடுவேரி
8. தேமா (தேமாம்பூ)
9. மணிச்சிகை
10. உந்தூழ்
11. கூவிளம்
12. எறுழ் ( எறுழம்பூ)
13. சுள்ளி
14. கூவிரம்
15. வடவனம்
16. வாகை
17. குடசம்
18. எருவை
19. செருவிளை
20. கருவிளம்
21. பயினி
22. வானி
23. குரவம்
24. பசும்பிடி
25. வகுளம்
26. காயா
27. ஆவிரை
28. வேரல்
29. சூரல்
30. சிறுபூளை
31. குறுநறுங்கண்ணி
32. குருகிலை
33. மருதம்
34.கோங்கம்
35. போங்கம்
36. திலகம்
37. பாதிரி
38. செருந்தி
39. அதிரல்
40. சண்பகம்
41. கரந்தை
42. குளவி
43. மாமரம் (மாம்பூ)
44. தில்லை
45. பாலை
46. முல்லை
47. கஞ்சங்குல்லை
48. பிடவம்
49. செங்கருங்காலி
50. வாழை
51. வள்ளி
52. நெய்தல்
53. தாழை
54. தளவம்
55. தாமரை
56. ஞாழல்
57. மௌவல்
58. கொகுடி
59. சேடல்
60. செம்மல்
61. சிறுசெங்குரலி
62. கோடல்
63. கைதை
64. வழை
65. காஞ்சி
66. கருங்குவளை (மணிக் குலை)
67. பாங்கர்
68. மரவம்
69. தணக்கம்
70. ஈங்கை
71. இலவம்
72. கொன்றை
73. அடும்பு
74. ஆத்தி
75. அவரை
76. பகன்றை
77. பலாசம்
78. பிண்டி
79. வஞ்சி
80. பித்திகம்
81. சிந்துவாரம்
82. தும்பை
83. துழாய்
84. தோன்றி
85. நந்தி
86. நறவம்
87. புன்னாகம்
88. பாரம்
89. பீரம்
90. குருக்கத்தி
91. ஆரம்
92. காழ்வை
93. புன்னை
94. நரந்தம்
95. நாகப்பூ
96. நள்ளிருணாறி
97. குருந்தம்
98. வேங்கை
99. புழகு

Aanandha Yazhai - Thangameengal HD Video Song First on Net Yuvan Musical

வரிகள் :ந முத்துக்குமார்
இசை : யுவன் ஷங்கர் ராஜா
படம் : தங்கமீன்கள்
ஆனந்த யாழை மீட்டுகிறாய் - அடி
நெஞ்சில் வண்ணம் தீட்டுகிறாய்
அன்பென்னும் குடையை நீட்டுகிறாய்
அதில் ஆயிரம் மழைத்துளி கூட்டுகிறாய்

இரு நெஞ்சம் இணைந்து பேசிட உலகில்
பாஷைகள் எதுவும் தேவையில்லை
சிறு பூவில் உறங்கும் பனியில் தெரியும்
மலையின் அழகோ தாங்கவில்லை
உந்தன் கைகள் பிடித்து போகும் வழி
அது போதவில்லை இன்னும் வேண்டுமடி
இந்த மண்ணில் இதுபோல் யாருமிங்கே
என்றும் வாழவில்லை என்று தோன்றுதடி
தூரத்து மரங்கள் பார்க்குதடி
தேவதை இவளா கேக்குதடி
தன்னிலை மறந்து பூக்குதடி
காற்றினில் வாசம் தூக்குதடி
அடி கோவில் எதற்கு? தெய்வங்கள் எதற்கு?
உனது புன்னகை போதுமடி
இந்த மண்ணில் இதுபோல் யாருமிங்கே
என்றும் வாழவில்லை என்று தோன்றுதடி
உன் முகம் பார்த்தால் தோணுதடி
வானத்து நிலவு சின்னதடி
மேகத்தில் மறைந்தே பார்க்குதடி
உன்னிடம் வெளிச்சம் கேட்குதடி
அதை கையில் பிடித்து ஆறுதல் உரைத்து
வீட்டுக்கு அனுப்பு நல்லபடி
இந்த மண்ணில் இதுபோல் யாருமிங்கே
என்றும் வாழவில்லை என்று தோன்றுதடி

Running Sand River ஓடும் நதி போல ஓடும் மணல் ஆறு........ இயற்கையின் அதிசயத்தைப் பாருங்கள்!!

இயற்கையின் அதிசயத்தைப் பாருங்கள்!!
ஓடும் நதி போல ஓடும் மணல் ஆறு........
இதுவரை கண்டதும் இல்லை,
இதுவரை கேட்டதும் இல்லை,
நீங்களே பாருங்கள் இந்த வீடியோ-வை!!!
அனைவருக்கும் பகிரவும்.......

Ancient electricity, Dendera Lightbulb

Ancient electricity, Dendera light bulb. Scientists suggested that is a bulb, with two arms reaching into it near its thick end, and a sort of cable at the other end, the snake represented the filament, the djed pillar was an insulator, and the tube was an ancient electric light bulb.

வறுமை என்பது எம்மை வலிமையாக்கும் மாபெரும் ஒரு சக்தி

Science of Changing Sex

Given the ongoing “culture war” regarding sexual orientation, wherein some elements of society wish to portray homosexuality as “sinful”, “mental illness”, or both it is no surprise that the question of etiology of homosexuality, and indeed of any sexual orientation, has become a political, as well as scientific question.  Into this fray has come some of the best and brightest of the sexologists who are exploring the science.  I know that some transsexuals and transgendered folk won’t like to read the name of the lead author, but in science, it is not important who says something, but what the evidence says.  The lead author is J. Michael Bailey.  Yes, that Prof. Bailey.

Bailey is joined by Lisa Diamond, Paul Vassey, Marc Breedlove, Eric Vilain, and Mark Epprecht in a masterful compliation and exposition on the current science of sexual orientation.  The paper also covers evidence concerning androphilic MTF transgender people and covers some remarkable conjectures regarding the role of culture, nurture if you will, regarding the difference between MTF transkids and conventional gay men.  Fortunately, the paper is NOT behind a paywall, so my reader may follow the link provided in the reference section to read it for oneself, which I highly recommend.

The paper lays out powerful evidence that shows that indeed “nature” has a very strong role to play in the development of sexual orientation.  But as the authors point out, this does NOT mean that morally or politically such evidence, or indeed proof, has any bearing on how society should treat non-heterosexual people,

Ongoing political controversies around the world exemplify a long-standing and widespread preoccupation with the acceptability of homosexuality. Nonheterosexual people have seen dramatic surges both in their rights and in positive public opinion in many Western countries. In contrast, in much of Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Oceania, and parts of Asia, homosexual behavior remains illegal and severely punishable, with some countries retaining the death penalty for it. Political controversies about sexual orientation have often overlapped with scientific controversies. That is, participants on both sides of the sociopolitical debates have tended to believe that scientific findings—and scientific truths—about sexual orientation matter a great deal in making political decisions. The most contentious scientific issues have concerned the causes of sexual orientation—that is, why are some people heterosexual, others bisexual, and others homosexual? The actual relevance of these issues to social, political, and ethical decisions is often poorly justified, however.  … No causal theory of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support. The most scientifically plausible causal hypotheses are difficult to test. However, there is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial causes of sexual orientation than social causes. This evidence includes the cross-culturally robust finding that adult homosexuality is strongly related to childhood gender nonconformity; moderate genetic influences demonstrated in well-sampled twin studies; the cross-culturally robust fraternal-birth-order effect on male sexual orientation; and the finding that when infant boys are surgically and socially “changed” into girls, their eventual sexual orientation is unchanged (i.e., they remain sexually attracted to females). In contrast, evidence for the most commonly hypothesized social causes of homosexuality—sexual recruitment by homosexual adults, patterns of disordered parenting, or the influence of homosexual parents—is generally weak in magnitude and distorted by numerous confounding factors.

Setting aside the issues of policy and etiology, there are still some important issues regarding cultural factors influencing expression of androphilia in males because one of the models of why non-heterosexual orientations may persist is that of kin selection, in which the gender atypicality of androphilic males is evolutionarily selected for and maintained in the population because androphilic males help their near relatives raise their children, thereby increasing the chances of their own genes, shared with those close relatives, to perpetuate.  In this model, gender atypical androphilic males are in effect, an evolutionarily ‘fit’ alternative ‘morph’; far from being a “mistake of nature”, they are in a very real sense, a “third sex” involved in reproduction by proxy through childcare.

Consistent with the predictions of the Kin Selection Hypothesis (KSH), research conducted in Samoa on transgender androphilic males (fa’afafine) has repeatedly demonstrated that they show elevated avuncular (uncle-like) tendencies compared to Samoan women and gynephilic men. (This is measured via a 9-item scale measuring willingness to care for, and to give resources to, nieces and nephews. Furthermore, this finding does not appear to reflect a general tendency to help others, but a specific preference for kin. In contrast, research on cisgender androphilic males in Western populations and non-Western industrialized cultures has garnered virtually no support for the KSH. It is possible that elevated avuncularity is not expressed unless male androphilia takes on the transgender form. More research is needed to ascertain whether other populations of transgender male androphiles exhibit elevated kin-directed altruism or not.  …  Societies in which transgender male androphilia predominates exhibit a significantly greater presence of human ancestral sociocultural conditions compared to societies in which the cisgender form predominates. This suggests that the transgender form of male androphilia was likely the ancestral form. As such, transgender male androphilia likely represents the best model for testing evolutionary hypotheses, given that more derived forms of this trait may reflect recent cultural/historical influences that might obscure the outcome of evolutionary processes. Consequently, the most promising results from tests of both the KSH and SAGH are from studies of Samoan fa’afafine. The evidence would be much stronger if other populations of transgender androphilic males showed similar effects.

Let’s think about this a moment.  If the Western form, conventional gay men, don’t show an interest in their kin, is that because their homophobic siblings won’t let them, or because trying to be gender typical (straight acting) includes disavowing any interests in what would be considered womanly interest in young children?  I know its only anecdotal, but my reader may wish to check out my own history of a very strong interest in children.  Also note that my siblings have forbidden me from having anything to do with their children, due to extreme religious notions and transphobia.  (Note to researchers: Can we please use the more gender identity respectful term materteral if we are speaking of transgendered MTF folk here?)

Here is where things get really interesting.  The authors conjecture here that cultural factors influence the form that male androphilia takes depends upon the culture that androphilic males find themselves in,

Same-sex sexuality between adults typically takes one of two cross-culturally recurrent forms, which are related to gender-role enactment and gender identity. These two forms are cisgender and transgender male androphilia and female gynephilia.

Cisgender male androphiles and female gynephiles occupy the gender role typical of their sex and identify as “men” and “women,” respectively. This is the form of homosexuality that is nearly universal in the contemporary West. In contrast, transgender male androphiles and female gynephiles do not occupy the gender role typical of their sex. Not only do they behave in a highly gender-atypical manner, but they often identify, and are identified by others, as neither “men” nor “women,” but rather, as a member of some alternative gender category. Contemporary examples of transgender male androphiles include the kathoey of Thailand, the xanith of Oman, the muxes of Mexico, and the fa’afafine of Samoa. Some contemporary examples of transgender female gynephiles include the tombois of Sumatra and the mahu of Tahiti.

In some cultures, transgender male androphilia and female gynephilia are linked to particular institutionalized labor practices, which often involve specialized religious activities. This type of transgender male androphilia has been referred to as “profession defined”. For example, on the Indian subcontinent, transgender male androphiles known as hijra bestow blessings from Hindu gods and goddesses for luck and fertility at weddings and at the births of male babies. In Sulawesi, Indonesia, transgender androphilic males known as bissu are shamans who bless people for good health and successful journeys and who play important ritual roles in weddings. These institutionalized religious roles sometimes carry with them the expectation of asceticism, but often this ideal is not realized. In general, same-sex-attracted individuals self-select to fill these roles, probably because they are recognized as socially acceptable niches.

Here I have to interject a note of caution, nay, derision.  There is a tendency for Western sociologists to romantasize the social status of transgender people.  For example, the hijra are NOT welcome guests at wedding and births.  They come uninvited.  I’ve had a number of occasions to speak at length, careful not to ‘out’ myself, with Hindu expat colleagues from India.  Universally, when speaking of hijra, the tone is one of revulsion and hatred.  The hijra are not revered co-religionists, but feared and dispised “vermin”.  The “blessings” being bestowed are the obverse of a coin, the reverse of which is the obviation of the threat that the children of the marriage or newborn will be “cursed”… the superstitious Hindus believe that the hijra have the power to curse the future childen of a bride or a newborn to become hijra, the lowest of the low, so they pay the unwelcome hijra “guests” money to ensure that they leave without cursing their children.  The hijra also beg on the streets, with the understood threat that if they are not given money, they will lift their skirts to the horror of the onlooking men, to show the scars of their very crude “castration” while being cursed.  From other lengthy conversations I’ve had with an Amercan transsexual who lived for a time among the hijra in India, I learned that many hijra suppliment their begging with prostitution.  Thus, the hijra have wrested for themselves a social position of begging and prostitution… a social position not too much different than poor street transkids in the Western nations.

But, to continue,

Cisgender male androphiles and female gynephiles behave in a relatively gender-typical manner when compared with their transgender counterparts. However, they are relatively gender-atypical when compared to gynephilic cisgender men and androphilic cisgender women. Thus, regardless of the form they take, male androphilia and female gynephilia are associated with gender-atypicality. However, the strength of this association varies with the manner in which same-sex sexuality is publicly expressed.

Both the cisgender and transgender forms of same-sex sexuality may occur within a given culture, but typically one or the other predominates. For example, the cisgender form tends to be much more common in many Western cultures. In contrast, the transgender form appears to be more common in many non-Western cultures. In places where the two forms coexist, their members often consider each other to be part of the same subculture. Margaret Mead observed a meeting in which an Omaha minquga (i.e., a transgender male androphile) and a Japanese homosexual man (i.e., a cisgender male androphile) who visited her field site in 1961 instantly recognized each other. Within an hour of the Japanese man’s arrival, the sole minquga in the tribe turned up and tried to make contact with him. Similarly, sociologist Fredrick Whitam noted that, in São Paulo, travesti (transgender male androphiles) are an especially conspicuous presence in gay clubs and are treated with a high degree of respect.

In contemporary Western cultures, cisgender male androphiles typically engage in sexual interactions with each other; the same is true of cisgender female gynephiles. That is, in the West, homosexual relationships are typically between two homosexual individuals. Such individuals comprise the Western gay and lesbian communities. This type of same-sex sexual relationship has been referred to as “egalitarian” and is characterized by partners who are not markedly different in age or gender-related characteristics. Within such relationships, partners tend not to adopt special social roles, and they treat each other as equals. In contrast, this pattern appears to be relatively uncommon in non-Western cultures and has emerged only recently in certain non-Western urban centers.

Although transgender male androphiles are same-sex attracted, they rarely, if ever, engage in sexual activity with each other; the same is true of transgender female gynephiles. Rather, these individuals engage in sexual activity with same-sex cisgender partners who self-identify, and are identified by others, as “men” or “women.” For example, in Samoa, very feminine natal males called fa’afafine (which means “in the manner of women”) have sex with masculine Samoan men. The fa’afafine would be aghast at the idea of having sex with one another.

Little research has focused on the cisgender sexual partners of same-sex-attracted transgender males and females. Blackwood noted that, in Sumatra, the cisgender female partners (femmes) of tombois “assert an uncomplicated attraction to men, [but] position themselves (if temporarily) under the label ‘lesbi’”—a derivative of “lesbian.” This suggests an episodic pattern of bisexual attraction on the part of femmes. In many cultures, same-sex sexual interactions between transgender and cisgender persons are not considered “homosexual” because they are understood to be hetero-gendered. In other words, if a cisgender androphilic male and a transgender androphilic male engage in sex, the former individual is often understood to be “the male partner” in the interaction, whereas the latter individual is often understood to be “the female partner.” Accordingly, the interaction is understood as male-female rather than male-male. The degree to which cisgender individuals who have sex with transgender persons of their same biological sex (i.e., men who have sex with female-appearing men and women who have sex with male-appearing women) are perceived as different from those whose sexual behavior is only with the other sex (i.e., conventional heterosexuals) remains an open question.

OK, there is one person who has conducted at least limited research on transgendered male androphiles and their non-trans male romantic partners, Dr. Richard Green.  As I explored in another essay, at least in the United States, they are conventionally heterosexual.  I can’t speak for the partners of fa’afafine in Samoa, but I got the impression from reading about them that they too find conventionally heterosexual partners.

For the sake of a thought experiment, let us conceed for the moment that the form that male androphilia takes depends on the culture that they find themselves.  (This will not be a popular notion among either Western Gay men nor autogynephiles who would otherwise wish to identify as androphilic transwomen.)  Let us further assume that the Kinship Selection Hypothesis is correct.  This would support not only the notion that androphilic males are a special morph, but that of neccessity, the transgender form is the evolutionarily selected form.  In which case, transkids are not “failed gay men”… but Western Gay Men are “failed transkids” !!!  This also reads upon efforts to “help” gender atypical children to be “more gender fluid”, less gender atypical, less.. well… less likely to be transgender, is in fact an attempt to fight an evolutionarilty selected and natural role, and as such is a “crime against nature”.

I would be tempted to close this with “just say’n”, but I’ve always found that expression to be irratating.

Further Reading:

Essay on the male romantic partners of transwomen

Essay on evidence that MTF transkids and gay men have the same etiology

References:

Bailey, et al., “Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science”, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, doi: 10.1177/1529100616637616

Thanks  https://sillyolme.wordpress.com/