Two-spirit people (also two spirit or twospirit) is a modern umbrella term used by some indigenous North Americans for gender-variant individuals within their communities. Non-Native anthropologists have historically used the term berdaches /bərˈdæʃɨz/ for individuals who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles in First Nations and Native American tribes, but this term has more recently fallen out of favour. Third and fourth gender roles historically embodied by two-spirit people include performing work and wearing clothing associated with both men and women. Some tribes consider there to be at least four genders: masculine men, feminine men, masculine women, and feminine women. The presence of male two-spirits was a fundamental institution among most tribal peoples.According to Will Roscoe, male and female two-spirits have been documented in over 130 North America tribes, in every region of the continent.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 03:20:33 +0000
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