home.social

#genderdiversity — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #genderdiversity, aggregated by home.social.

  1. 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:
    pbs.org/independentlens/conten

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

  2. #Minneapolis #powwow celebrates belonging for #TwoSpirit, #queer community

    #TwoSpiritPowwow invites natives to dress and dance on their own terms.

    By Auds Jenkins
    June 23, 2023

    "Em Matson leaned intently over a long table to arrange the delicate pieces of water lily appliqué.

    "Amid the mechanical whir of sewing machines and the lively chatter during a community regalia making night, Matson zeroed in on the task at hand: finishing their ribbon pants in time for the Two Spirit Powwow.

    "On Saturday, New Native Theater will sponsor Minneapolis' second annual 'Reclaiming Our Identities' Two Spirit Powwow, part of a burgeoning movement of powwows across the country that honor Two Spirit and #indigiqueer (Indigenous and queer) people.

    "'I can't wait to see everybody turn out. I know that if you come specifically to this powwow, it means you support our community,' said Wase Mannidu Ikwe, a Two Spirit person of the Rocky Boy Chippewa Cree Tribe. 'It's nice to see our allies. As Two Spirits, we make large impacts in the native community. We are valid.'

    "'Two Spirit' is an umbrella term derived from the #Anishnaabe '#NiizhManidoowag' (literally translated as "two spirits") that describes native people who exist outside the #GenderBinary and hold sacred roles in their communities.

    "Popularized by activists in the 1990s, the term honors multiplicity within native conceptions of gender identity and spirituality. It also reflects a pre-colonial legacy of gender diversity that is being reclaimed today.

    "'Prior to European #colonization, #GenderDiversity was the norm for many tribes. Gender was based on your roles and responsibilities, not what you looked like,' said Matson, a Two Spirit of the Sault Ste. Marie Ojibwe and one of the organizers of Minneapolis' Two Spirit Powwow.

    "In the months leading up to the powwow, organizers have hosted regalia-making nights for local Two Spirit and indigiqueer folks to make ceremonial clothing that authentically represents their identities.

    "'Our goal was for you to come and make whatever makes you feel comfortable,' said organizer Beth Seidl of the White Earth Band of Chippewa. 'We wanted everyone to feel safe, without any chance of someone coming by and saying, 'You're a boy. Why are you making a ribbon skirt?' if that's not how they identify."

    startribune.com/powwow-two-spi

    #Minnesota #Decolonize #NonBinary
    #GBLTQI #Activism
    #Reclamation #Indigiqueer