Although the hijra community has always had some influence in Pakistani popular culture - from songstresses, to television talk show hosts, talking about a “third gender” in Pakistan is as taboo and disgraceful as ever. I am well acquainted with the derogatory and inflammatory names and perceptions Pakistanis from all statuses hold of the hijra.

The Sartorialist visits Toronto. Worldtown visits your sites.

People have taken the broadly appealing idea of capturing everyday style and put their own spin on it with some success too.
Some unique, some conventional.

What a change to be in India and go an hour without seeing a single person separate from our small group of hikers. The mountain views as we walked were unbelievable: kilometer after kilometer of deep valleys and green rising peaks, occasionally punctuated by a house or two cut in jagged lines into the mountainside. For the first ten kilometers, the hike was grueling, but invigorating - the tough hills broken up by flat or downhill walks against such beautiful scenery it was easy to forget the pain in my legs. There was a point where we picked our way along a ridge path that couldn’t have been more than two feet across, on one side a steep drop into nothingness offered a reminder of how carefully I needed to watch my step.

Something about this man really broke my heart. He just looked so defeated, and started crying silently in the office. He clearly didn’t have much money, and just sat there for the longest time, tracing his thumb along the desk in front of him, shoulders slumped, lines around his eyes. I eventually had to move my arm from around his shoulders and turn away from because I was close to crying myself.

We trawl the news media so you don’t have to.

This Year’s Model : The Uniform Project :: The New York Times

We trawl the news media so you don’t have to.

Pambazuka News: Pan-African Voices for Freedom and Justice, July 16 2009 :: Read the full ‘Speech that might have been’

Being in India and sometimes existing under relatively harsh conditions has made me appreciate the silliest things. Here is an ongoing list of small pleasures to embrace whenever they make themselves present in India, in list form…

We trawl the news media so you don’t have to.

Inside Indie: Digging Roots :: Rabble TV

We trawl the news media so you don’t have to.

Full Text of Barack Obama, President of the USA in Ghana :: Al-Jazeera English

Obama in Ghana: War a ‘millstone around Africa’s neck’ :: CNN.com

Why Africa Depends on Handouts : A contradictory message from Obama :: Al-Jazeera English

Barack Obama tells Africa to stop blaming colonialism for problems :: London Telegraph

Obama in Africa: A Major Disappointment :: The Nation

More than 5,000 Africans text message Obama :: Alternet, from Agence France Presse

We trawl the news media so you don’t have to.

News 21: The New Voters, Identity & U.S. Politics :: Mixed-Race in U.S. Struggle to Form Political, Personal Identities