Berdache to Two-Spirit and Beyond
Abstract The visible presence and frequent social inclusion of gender minority people in First Nations across the North American continent spurred settler sociologists to describe Indigenous gender difference using the term “berdache.” That term was not embraced by Indigenous Peoples themselves, as...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book Part |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2022
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197528778.013.27 https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/37077/chapter/378013519 |
| Summary: | Abstract The visible presence and frequent social inclusion of gender minority people in First Nations across the North American continent spurred settler sociologists to describe Indigenous gender difference using the term “berdache.” That term was not embraced by Indigenous Peoples themselves, as frameworks of gender expression, terms used to describe gender difference, and social roles for those so named often differed by First Nation. Forced assimilation practices, such as boarding and residential schools and compulsory conversion to Christianity, attempted to erase Indigenous culture, including distinct gender frameworks. Efforts by First Nations Peoples to preserve Indigenous cultural specificity, including their terms for gender difference, have been undermined by widespread destruction of Indigenous languages. Beginning around the 1960s, some First Nations people began to express their gender or sexual difference by identifying as “Two-Spirit” and formed regional groups to organize socially and politically around that identity. This chapter will examine how contemporary representations of Two-Spirit identity hold continuity and disruption in creative tension. |
|---|