Anthropological conceptualisations of sexual categories

The thesis inquires into the possibilities which anthropological study has in attempting to conceptualise the rich manifestations of human sexuality. It discusses the problems of biological determination and normativity in the study of sexuality as well as its problems in cross-cultural applications. In examples of interpretation of well known phenomena such as "hijra", "two-spirit" and "ritual homosexuality" it demonstrates theoretical concepts of "third sex", "third gender", and "sexual lifeways" as possible tools of cross-cultural categorization. It presents an original field research investigating the formation of a specific new alternative sexual category within gay communities in three language contexts - Czech, English and German. Offering a situational analysis which concerns not only a description of cultural meanings and symbols known by actors, and an analyses of historical development, but also offers an interpretation of actors subjectivity displayed in individual motivations, desires and meanings created and used by actors. It endeavours to give a reflection of relations between sexual category and individual motivations during the process of accepting sexual identity and forming an alternative sexual category