#gbltq — Public Fediverse posts

A Map of Gender-Diverse Cultures

This text and the language in the corresponding map was updated in consultation with a world gender expert in October, 2023.

"Throughout recorded history and since time immemorial, thriving cultures have recognized, revered, and integrated more than two genders. Terms such as #transgender, gay, or bisexual are Western constructs that often assume three things: that there are only two sexes (male/female), as many as three sexualities (gay/straight/bisexual), and only two #genders (man/woman).

"Even after the end of the modern era and as the #colonial period wanes, hundreds of distinct #Indigenous societies around the globe still retain their own long-established traditions for third, fourth, fifth, or more genders. The subject of #TwoSpirits, Fred Martinez, for example, was not a boy who wanted to be a girl, but both a boy and a girl — an identity his Navajo culture recognized and revered as #nádleehí. Meanwhile, Hina of Kumu Hina is part of a #NativeHawaiian culture that has traditionally revered and respected #mahu, those who embody both male and female spirit. It’s not uncommon for third gender people to perform critical spiritual and religious functions in their communities.

"Among many Indigenous societies, two prominent features often distinguish the lives and social roles of third gender persons from those of cisgender persons or contemporary transgender persons in non-Indigenous societies. The first is that many Indigenous terms for third gender people contain both the word for 'man' and 'woman' in their construction, and that #ThirdGender people are seen as embodying both of those genders in diverse ways. The second is that the history of many third genders is in the community role of religious specialists, which also takes diverse forms, depending on the beliefs of diverse cultures. While not all third gender persons are defined in these terms, across our species, this phenomenon of the third gender religious specialist, healer, or spiritual worker has been part of our #CollectiveIdentity and human experience since time immemorial.

"Since the beginning of the 21st century, we’ve seen tremendous expansion of the role that transgender, #GenderDiverse, and third gender people have in society, following the tenuous establishment of civil rights for #gay and #lesbian people in many nations and increased access to #genderaffirming care in the transgender community. Many Indigenous transgender people who also identify as third gender are familiar to large audiences via their participation in popular media or social media activism. Third gender people, like the Japanese-Samoan, #Faafafine artist Yuki Kihara, now participate in major global cultural events and function not just as representatives of their gender-based community, but of their nation. Kihara had both a solo exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and represented New Zealand at the 2021 Venice Biennale. [For more: '#LGBTQIA+ Pride and Two-Spirit People' in Smithsonian Voices.]

"In the 21st century, many third gender people choose to take advantage of #GenderAffirmingCare, and identify, in addition to being third gender, as transgender. As access to gender-affirming care parallels healthcare access, and both third gender and Indigenous persons are often marginalized economically, it is not as readily available to many Indigenous transgender people, and within Indigenous cultures, medical transition is often seen as separate or secondary to social transition.

"Within #Western societies, despite centuries of suppression, there are still traces of a past when third or fourth or more genders were recognized within many cultures and societies. In rare cases, they presently exist. An example of this would be the #burrnesha of Albania, women who give up their social role as women to live as men. Likewise, within Jewish culture and law, as many as eight genders have been historically recognized, and in diverse ways.

"Take a tour with this world map, and learn how many cultures see gender diversity."

Learn more:
https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/two-spirits_map-html/

#PBS #GenderDiversity #CulturalTraditions #Genders #ThreeGenders #ThirdGender #FiveGenders #Gender #GBLTQ #Genders

So, I've been downloading #GBLTQ resources and historical documents (including #QueerTalk, a radio show on #WMPG hosted by one of my first friends after I moved to #Maine). Why am I doing this? Because I don't trust #Trump and fiends to be in charge of public university archives. I'll be uploading those precious digital records to the @internetarchive soon. So grateful IA are there to be an independent repository of #History and #Culture! 📚 🎧 🎥

#PreservingCulture #PreservingHistory #InternetArchive #FundingCuts #MemoryHole #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #LGBTQ #QueerHistory

Geeked out the vehicle! I already had some #StarTrek stickers, but I added some #DavidBowie, #StarWars, #WMPG, #Cats, and #GBLTQ related bling!

#NerdMobile #RebelRebel #PrincessLeia #LevarBurton #ReadingRainbow

Rites of Passage: The #StrawberryCeremony

by Jillian Kerr, May 1, 2025

"Traditionally, the strawberry ceremony is for girls after their first menstrual cycle. However, today it is offered to folks who identify as #TwoSpirit and to those who didn’t have the opportunity to participate as young people, like me. I didn’t have the chance to go through this ceremony decades ago as an adolescent, and I am eagerly looking forward to my own strawberry ceremony experience this year. In anticipation, I researched the strawberry ceremony and talked to those who had already experienced it to learn more.

"Strawberries are highly significant to the #Wabanaki and other Native tribes; as part of the traditional Wabanaki diet before colonization, strawberries are indigenous. Natives used them for general health and to treat various ailments. Because of their shape, many Natives refer to strawberries as the 'heart berry.' The central plant and berry symbolize the mother, and the vines and future plants represent the connection between the Mother, her children, and her grandchildren. Strawberries could not grow without a vast, sprawling root system that connects the plants, like the veins that connect the heart to the rest of the body and sustain life."

Read more:
https://www.wabanakireach.org/rites_of_passage_the_strawberry_ceremony

#SolarPunkSunday #HistoryOfPlants
#NativePlants #WildStrawberries
#CulturalPreservation #GBLTQ #TraditionalAgriculture #IndigenousFoods #Strawberries

#Trans Health Experts Push Back on Youth Care Opposition in #SouthAfrica

by Malaika Delport, Feb 17, 2026

"The Professional Association for Transgender Health South Africa (#PATHSA) has published an important response to discriminatory and harmful arguments that question the legitimacy of gender-affirming care for #transgender and #NonBinary youth.

[...]

"PATHSA reiterates that being transgender is not a disorder and does not require diagnostic criteria. Gender dysphoria, however, is a recognised clinical condition involving significant distress related to gender incongruence.

"The organisation affirms that SASOP’s paper aligns with standards developed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which recommend comprehensive assessment and, where appropriate, access to puberty blockers or hormone therapy."

Read more:
https://www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/17/trans-health-experts-push-back-on-youth-care-opposition-in-south-africa/

#Africa #LGBTQ #GBLTQ #TransYouth #TransYouthCare #TransRightsAreHumanRights #RejectColonialism

Socializing Day 2 - Out and about in #PortlandME today. I love being a tourist in my old stomping grounds. A bit gentrified, but still very gay!

#MainePride #GayCrossing #StreetPride #GBLTQ+ #Crosswalks #PrideCrosswalks #InclusivePride #RainbowCrosswalks #MaineIsntFlorida

So, assuming the #Ceasefire between #Israel and #Hamas holds (and that reparations are made to #Palestinian victims -- but don't hold your breath), what if all the folks who came out for #FreePalestine team up with #ClimateActivists and #HumanRightsActivists and #GBLTQ activists and #WomensRights activists and call for change -- while we still have the #RightToProtest. Not sure what the future holds, but all that #Project2025 and laws for #SilencingDissent are still hanging over our heads... (And not just in the #US...) (And yes, kudos to everyone who showed up in #WashingtonDC today -- you rock!)
#USPol #UKPol #AusPol #WorldPol