Many people who have characteristics of both genders are beginning to refer to themselves as 'Two Spirits.' However, if people are not specifically from a Native American-oriented tribe then they may want to find a similar word or concept in THEIR OWN language or culture to represent this concept because we don't want to dogmatize, bastardize or otherwise diminish this unique expression. A Navajo story says that there was once a separation of the genders because of an argument between men and women with each moving to opposite sides of the river and it was the two-spirit 'Nádleehé' that brought the genders together through their greater understanding of the perspectives of both 'sides.' Within indigenous tribes Two-Spirit people were considered to be of a divine nature and tended to be the mediators and shamans or wise people. Another aspect of the Native American wisdom values the balance of the masculine and the feminine and says that if a person is out of balance then they get sick or are involved in violence and bad things tend to happen. If a Two-Spirited person has sex with either a male or a female then they are not considered to be gay, however, if two Two-Spirited people have sex with each other then this was the equivalent of a homosexual and was frowned upon or inappropriate. 'Two Spirit Press Room' (2SPR) was launched in 2005 through national community dialogue to strengthen Native GLBT (Two Spirit) Communities through community capacity building, public education and media outreach, and cultural competency resource building nationally. "Being Two-Spirited is a universal quality like singing, cooking, decorating the body, or predicting the weather. What Americans call gayness not only has distinct cultural characteristics, its participants have long held positions of social power in history and ritual among people all over the globe." -- paraphrased from Judy Grahn, Another Mother Tongue Other terms used: * Lakota: Wíŋkte * Navajo: Nádleehé * Mohave: Hwame * other: Koskalaka REFERENCES: * http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit * http://TwoSpirits.org KEYWORDS: Two Spirits, Two Spirit People, Berdaches, Joyas, Mixed Gender, Multiple Gender Identity, Third Gender, First Nations, Native American, Lakota, Wíŋkte, Navajo, Nádleehé, Mohave, Hwame, Koskalaka, As They Are, Red Circle Project, LGBT, 2SPR, Two-Spirit Press Room, GLAAD, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Freddie Martinez, Yupik Tribe, Eskimo, Lydia Nibley, Cathy Renna

• published: 23 Jan 2014
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