mod 5 Flashcards
examples of gender binary diversity
In contrast to the gender binary traditionally promoted in EuroAmerican societies, Bugis society recognizes five gender identities: makkunrai, oroané, bissu, calabai, and calalai (Graham Davis, 2006). And similar gender traditions exist in Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Bangladesh.
what is gender diversity?
As Nanda (2000) explains, gender diversity refers to the idea that cultures construct their sex and gender systems differently and these systems do not always fit into the categories of male and female, man and woman (i.e., no binary opposition). Therefore, outside of the Euro-American construction of two sexes or two genders, other societies have gender identities that do not fit the North American binary opposition of male and female.
western gender perspective
The Western perspective, and especially colonial constructions, of gender diversity is most often misidentified with homosexuality and this has led to misunderstandings about sex/gender systems (e.g., gender variant individuals as immoral or “uncivilized”). However, the ethnographic record reveals many different ways to organize our thinking about sex, gender, and sexuality, and cautions us against making easy generalizations about “human nature.
kathoey?
Kathoey (previously referred to by mainly tourists as “Lady Boys”) is a gender identity in Thailand that at times is described as transgender and at other times as belonging to a separate (third) sex.
what does cross cultural data reveal? examples?
Cross-cultural data reveals a variety of ways of organizing and constructing sex, gender, and sexuality (Nanda, 2000). In Brazil, for example, sexuality is central to gender variance, but it is sexual practice (position in sexual intercourse) not sexual orientation alone that determines one’s place in the gender system. In Polynesia and some North American Indigenous cultures, sexuality is less important than occupation (what tasks or work a person mainly does) in defining gender diversity. And in India, the European Middle Ages, and the Balkans, it is the renunciation of sexuality that defines gender variance (e.g., Sworn Virgins).
describe hijra
The hijra are an institutionalized third sex, third gender in India. As will be discussed in the assigned reading, the traditional hijra role of blessing for (or cursing) fertility shifted under British colonization and today the hijra are politically active in the Indian Legislature and fight for social equality and justice for all.
what forms can gender diversity take?
gender diversity can take the form of male gender variants or female gender variants, as well as identities that are non-binary (e.g., based on social roles rather than on bodily sex, for example.)
male gender variant? western perspective
A male gender variant can be defined as men (i.e., male-bodied) who identify with or act like women, usually including sexuality. This is a common form of gender diversity that is found cross-culturally but understood differently in different cultures. However, from a Western perspective, there has been a frequent association of male gender variation with prostitution or sexual “deviance”—a negative stereotype not shared by other cultures.
female gender variant?
The term female gender variant refers to women (i.e., female-bodied) who identify or act like men. This form of gender variance is not as culturally emphasized as male gender variance and may be due to ethnographic or historical emphasis on male gender diversity resulting from gender bias. Female gender variants are found most frequently in North American Indigenous societies.
two spirit terms?
well into the 21st century, referred to these identities as “Berdache”.
The term berdache is an inappropriate term as it is originally derived from the Arabic word meaning “male prostitute” and reflects the colonial European misunderstanding of North American Indigenous gender diversity. The term focuses on sexuality reflecting the European ethnocentric view that gender diversity was an unnatural and sinful process, commonly associated with “sodomy”.
how was the previous two spirit name addressed
To address this ethnocentric misinterpretation, the term Two-Spirit was coined in 1990 by urban American Native gays and lesbians in hopes that it better conveys the spiritual nature associated with gender diversity among North American Indigenous societies. However, the term “two-spirit” has been criticized as emphasizing the Euro-American construction of two genders.
how can two spirit be understood as a term?
Further, just as Indigenous societies had unique histories, traditions, languages, and worldviews, they would allso have varying views on gender, sex, and sexuality. Two Spirit can be understood as a pan-Indigenous, unifying term to describe people who identify as having both masculine and feminine traits. However, different societies had their own terms and understandings gender diverse individuals, such as the Nadleeh of the Navajo and the Alya and Hwame of the Mohave.
Female gender variants
Biological females who identify with or act like men.
Gender
Refers to the social, cultural, and psychological constructions that are imposed on the biological differences of sex.
Gender diversity
refers to the fact that cultures construct their sex and gender systems differently and that these systems do not always fit into the categories of male and female, man and woman.
