Blog Against Heteronormativity Day

Other bloggers participating in Blogging Against Normativity today.

In my American Indian Women class we discussed the topic of Two-Spirited people in American Indian tradition. We also talked about it in contrast to the more western/contemporary Third Gender term (not that existing outside of the gender binary is anything new of course).

What I found intersting about the discussion was the ways in which American Indian and non-American Indian folx who identify outside of the western gender binary assert themselves within society. The argument was that American Indians tend to reestablish already existing traditional roles within their historical communities. Two-Spirited folx tend to seek those roles that continue to keep traditional identities alive. In some AI communities your work and/or spiritual essence for example determine your gender. There are also more than just two genders in many AI traditional communities. So there are not just a variance of gender possibilities within these communities but there are also already prescribed roles for each of these genders, not just validating their identities but also incorporating them as functioning members of society (in many instances as medicine people and mediators between genders in community and marriage disputes for example). So their identities include more than just sexual desire (don't you hate it when people assume or think that your sexual identity is EVERYTHING you are?). So today American Indians many times choose to reassert themselves into their communities as opposed to negating themselves from it.

The Third Gender idea tends to separate the experience of gender variance away from one's community. I understand too that communities that have internalized oppressive western notions of heteronormativity perpetuate this by marginalizing those who do not fall into those assumed norms. Also many American Indian communities have interalized these norms themselves and marginalize their own community members, so this is not to say that all Two-Spirited folx have it that easy (sometimes they leave the rez in fear of physical attacks). But the reason this topic interests me is two things:

One: Finding solutions by encouraging our communities to understand how heteronormativity is a tool of oppression that we have internalized among all the other stuff, which in turn usually corelate to heteronormativity itself (sexism, patriarchy, sexual assault and its assertion of power, ect). We should understand that discarding heteronormative ideals is a healing process, not just for those who exist outside of the western gender binary and those who feel sexual desire for not just/other than those of the opposite gender, but for the whole community. Perhaps if heteronormative values and messages were non-existent our youth would grow up with more options of self-identity and less emotional/psychological complexes.

Two: (Not that "one" doesn't apply to this group because it does.) The tendency for white Third Gender folx to pretend that because they don't identify within the gender binary that they qualify for exemption from white privilege. I don't see many Third Gender white folx doing much work around understanding and eradicating white supremacy/racism and white privilege. Instead of taking the idea of reasserting themselves into their communities and initiating healing processes, I see the tendency to disown and deny any historical access to white privilege and create a separate "race" of people they consider to be right alongside the historical exprience of people of color. Of course this does not apply to ALL Third Gender white folx (because I know some myself that are doing anti-white supremacy work) but I would like to see those numbers grow.

Well here is a link to one of the articles we read on Two-Spirit folx in American Indian communities.. Hope this topic gets folx thinking as well.. http://eres.sfsu.edu/eres/docs/20259/ais_420_f8_1.pdf

Tigera