#genderdiversity — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2026-08-17 · 19:43 UTC

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

#transgender #genders #colonial #indigenous #twospirits #nadleehi

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2026-08-02 · 18:08 UTC

#HintonburgON - #Ottawa #TransLibrary

"The Ottawa Trans Library is a library and community space for trans and gender non-conforming folks. It consists of a lending library on #trans and #GenderIssues and by trans and #GenderDiverse authors and a small #OttawaTransArchives. Visit the OTL at 1104 Somerset St. West in Hintonburg.

Hours are:

Saturday 12 pm to 5pm
Monday, and Thursday 3 pm to 7 pm
Wednesday 12 pm to 5 pm

In addition to regular hours, the OTL holds events at other times. For complete info, visit the library site at https://ottawatranslibrary.ca/.

You can also check out the front page appearance in the Ottawa Citizen.

The lending library consists of books by trans authors, as well as historical, important and interesting works on trans issues and people. I am also interested in acquiring transphobic titles. If you have a collection of trans books or periodicals gathering dust in your basement that you would consider #deaccessioning (that’s a respectful term for 'getting rid of'), please get in touch with me. We will also be building the collection through purchase.

The library has four separate sitting areas, a free coffee and tea station and free WiFi, of course. You don’t need to borrow a book. Meet your friends or talk to the librarian. A safe space with no pressure or judgments. There is only one rule: be respectful of others."

FMI:
https://transottawa.ca/ottawa-trans-library/

Article from the Ottawa Citizen from 2022:

'A non-judgmental space': Ottawa Trans Library offers good reads and a place to gather

There's only one rule: Be respectful of others.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/a-non-judgmental-space-ottawa-trans-library-offers-good-reads-and-a-place-to-gather

#SolarPunkSunday #LibrariesRule! #SafeSpaces #TransLibraries #Ontario #GenderDiversity #BuildingCommunity