Presentation Gender Bender

Intro (Anika)
Q: How many cultures recognize more than one gender? → Show Gender Map
Focus on two select cultures: Native American and Hawaii

Native American concept (Vanessa)

Explaining special concept (“a third gender?”) → term cloud for different tribes
Berdache (negative term) → “Two-spirit”
Taking back two spirit → modern development and influence of colonialization
(Hannah)

Hawaii concept (Hannah)

The Meaning of Mahu
Modern aspect (kane-wahine, wahine-kane, pronouns)
Showing similarities (and differences?)

Group discussion (split class in half, discuss with partner) (Anika)

Impact of colonialization (gender concepts)
Social constructs and biology

HANDOUT
Summary concepts
Group discussion questions
(Glossary)
Resources
The Spirit and the Flesh (William Walter)
http://www.westender.com/news-issues/two-spirits-one-struggle-the-front-lines-of-bei
ng-first-nations-and-gay-1.1269015
http://aplaceinthemiddle.org/videos​ (Hawaii)
http://aplaceinthemiddle.org/resources
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/two-spirits_map-html/
Movies: Two Spirits (2009), Kuma Hina (Hawaii)

Vanessa:

Two Spirits
Native Concept
While the concept of gender benders still seems very complex in today’s western societies, a
native guidance might give all the answers one is looking for, especially when trying to find
one’s identity.
The concept of ​Two-Spirits ​describes “a person of first nations or native American decent
possessing both a male and a female spirit[1]”. Instead of avoiding and diversity, “native
 American religions offered an explanation for human diversity by their creation stories. In
some tribal religions, the Great Spiritual Being is conceived as neither male nor female but
as a combination of both[vs1] .” “​The Great Spirit” in native American cultures was perceived
as the divine power that created the world”[2]
Spirits in native American culture:
- The emphasis of American Indian religions, is on the spiritual nature of all things. To
understand the physical world, one must appreciate the underlying spiritual essence.
- Everything that exists is spiritual, every object from water, to a rock etc.
- The spirit of one thing, including humans, is not superior to the spirit of any other.
- The function of religion is not to try to condemn or to change what exists, but to accept the
realities of the world and to appreciate their contributions to life – everything that exists has a
purpose.
Berdarchism and Hermaphroditism ​(Chp. 4 / Pg. 8)
Terminology
- Different and specific terms for gender-varient members of their community
The Term “bedarche” has been used by westerners to mainly describe an indigenous
individual fulfilling one of many mixed gender roles in their tribe. This term was however
mainly used to describe feminine native men.
In a French contect “bardarche” means “passive homosexual” or “male prostitues”. This
negative terminology has now been replaced in the third annual native American / First
Nations gay and lesbian conference with the term “Two-Spirit”. ​[3]
We therefore also changed the term “bedarche” in our reading summaries.
This self chosen terminology brings back the self-determination of native Americans and
rather describes the spiritual and historical context and not the western observation. It also
allows room to more diversity, and not only the main description of feminine native men.
Two-Spirts Spirit:
- Individuals who are physically normal might have a spirit of the other sex, might range
somewhere between the two sexes or might have a spirit that is distinct from either.
- [Two-Spirit] are therefore accepted spiritually as “Not Man”.
- Native religions offer spiritual explanations
Characteristics of Two-Spirits
- Before Europeans came, over 500 diffferent tribes , so generalisation should be seen
under this aspect.

- Receive respect as a result of being a mediator

§ Between status of women and men
§ Between psychic and physical
§ Between spirit and the flesh
o ​Posses vision of both
o ​Double vision with the ability to see more clearly than a single gender
perspective can provide
- Sexual behaviour ​[vs2]
o ​Chapter

Different terminologies in tribes:

 Whatever option is chosen for Two-Spirits, whether they chose no sex at all, had two spirits
or changed into being female or male, native religions offer spiritual explanations.
Many tribes see the [Two-Spirit] role as signifying an individual’s proclivities as a dreamer
and a visionary
- ​ko´chamana spirit
o ​Zuni- tribe in the south west
o ​Ceremony connecting the agricultural spirit Zuni & the hunter spirit
o ​This mediator with its peacemaking skills ​ko´chamana spirit ​is performed by
a berdache
o ​The Zuni origin myths sanction the idea that gender can be transformed
independently of biological sex
- ​warhami
o ​Kamia:
o ​The man-woman spirit​ warhami ​is the bearer of the plant seeds & the
introducer of the Kamia culture
- ​nadle
o ​Navajos
o ​Creation story of five worlds
o ​Meaning of “the changing one” or “the one who is transformed”
o ​First people = Man and Woman, created equally at the same time
o ​First two worlds were bleak and unhappy, so they escape to the third world
o ​Two twins, turquoise boy and white shell girl, live in the third world. Both
where the first [Two-Spirits], or the “changing ones” (​nadle​), as explained in
the Navajo language.
o ​The changing twins help with farming, are inventors and savours and
therefore made people happy.
o ​High social status for [Two-Spirits]
è Shows the purpose of [Two-Spirit], the acceptance as a part of
nature order of the universe
è Acceptance of born hermaphrodites and the ones that choose to
take on a social role that is either male or female.
- “Haxu’xan”
o ​Among the Araphos of the Plains
o ​Result of a supernatural gift from birds or animals
- “mihdacke”
o ​Mandan myth told of an Indian who tried to force [Two-Spirits] to give up
their distinctive dress and status, which led to the spirits punish man people
with death.
- Ojibwe
o ​Sex usually determined one’s gender, and therefore one’s work, but the
Ojibwe accepted variation. Men who chose to function as women were called
ikwekaazo​, meaning ‘one who endeavours to be like a woman. Women who
functioned as men were called ​ininiikaazo​, meaning, 'one who endeavours to
be like a man.[4]

- Pimas (unsual for tribes)

 o ​No respect for the [Two-Spirit] status
o ​See man androgyny as witchcraft and not a spirit which underlies the
importance of spiritual explanations for the acceptance of gender variances in
a culture
Gender in native American cultures
Gender roles ​Chp. 4

- Indian cultures in general did not view gender/sexuality as being restricted to just two
categories. While some modern writers speak of the Indian [Two-Spirit] as a third gender, it’s
not quite that simple. The [Two-Spirit] was not a third category, but a way of referring to a
continuum of human behaviour that doesn’t fit neatly into the European notions of male and
female.[5]
- [Two-Spirit] gradually became women, which underscored the notion of woman as a social
category rather than as a fixed biological entity. Physical biological sex is less important in
gender classification than a person’s desire – so one’s spirit.
- [Two-Spirit] gender status and their economic role in the family, as a reflection of the fact
that women also were persons of consequences.
- Native American women were and still are independent and self-reliant personalities rather
than subservient dependents. They were centrally involved in the society’s economy.
- Since women had high status there was no shame in a male taking over women’s
characteristics, he would not give up male privilege or debasing himself to become like a
woman, simply because the position of women was not inferior.
- Status of [Two-Spirit] in a society is directly related to the status of women.

- While much of the literature about the role of the [Two-Spirit] in Northern Plains cultures
focuses on men, there were also many instances of women who wore men’s clothing and
took men’s roles. Some of these women married other women, some were warriors, and
some were chiefs. Among the Blackfoot, women who took on the aggressive roles of men
were referred as “manly hearted women.” They would usually begin to take on these roles as
teenagers when they would join war parties. They would wear male dress, marry women,
and often obtain leadership positions as warriors and/or spiritual leaders.[6]

“Two-Spirits”- In today’s society

- ​Development

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDyaknNmg28

[1]​ ​https://www.visionmakermedia.org/watch/injunuity-two-spirit
[2]​ ​https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-culture/great-spirit.htm
[3]​ ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit#Terminology
[4]​ ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit
[5]​ ​http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/313
[6]​ ​http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/313
[vs1]​Native: This view has to pursue a view of equality within genders, hierarchically as well
as socially. This nevertheless is in contrast to the gender view of the catholic church and
western cavillations back in the days (and even today).
[vs2]​Auch einbringen? Too often there is an attempt to use European categories to
understand the berdache and thus to assume that they were homosexual. Undoubtedly,
some were, but the role of the berdache was not a sexual one. Sometimes the berdache has
been described as a transvestite or as a transgender people. Again, this is not a totally true
image of who they were. Gender and sexuality in Indian cultures allowed a wide range of
variation and the concept of the berdache simply shows that cultures exist which allow a
great deal of freedom with regard to gender identity.