Two-spirit is actually a very recent concept, from 1990.
This reads like you're either arguing semantics or implying the exact brain worms this meme is talking about, but okay, let's get into it. Two-Spirit is a modern, Pan-Indian, umbrella term. It was chosen at a queer indigenous international gathering to combat and replace a colonizer slur that was at that point still being repeatedly used in academia.
Since Europeans arrived in the Americas, they’ve documented encounters with Two Spirit people. In many tribes, Two Spirit people were accepted and respected, but that changed with colonization. The colonizers, through forced assimilation efforts, changed acceptance into homophobia in many indigenous communities.
Yeah, it’s a coined term that encompasses non-Western gender ideas in Native American tribes in general, with many of the concepts under the umbrella differing significantly from each other
The roles of Two Spirit people can vary from tribe to tribe. They can be name givers, match makers, medicine people, holy people, peace-makers, mediators, warriors, adoptive parents, and much more. Here is information on some historical Two Spirit people. The point of the umbrella term is to be inclusive.
the term itself is controversial among natives.
Controversial is a weird way to phrase this. From what I've been told by friends who are indigenous and Two Spirit, most criticism of the term falls into two categories:
Those who think it either doesn't go far enough or is too broad. - Good faith, ongoing discussion to be had. These folks generally view Two Spirit as an improvement over the slur that was used by white people before.
Bigots with internalized colonial moral norms attempting to gatekeep. - Bad faith, similar ideology patterns to TERFs, widely denounced and ostracized.
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This reads like you're either arguing semantics or implying the exact brain worms this meme is talking about, but okay, let's get into it. Two-Spirit is a modern, Pan-Indian, umbrella term. It was chosen at a queer indigenous international gathering to combat and replace a colonizer slur that was at that point still being repeatedly used in academia.
From Two Spirit 101:
Within most tribes there is a term, in their language, to describe a Two Spirit person. Here is a partial list of the many terms from different Tribal Languages that are included under the Two Spirit umbrella.
So yes, the meme uses the functional and inclusive umbrella term chosen by the people who it applies to.
Really?
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The roles of Two Spirit people can vary from tribe to tribe. They can be name givers, match makers, medicine people, holy people, peace-makers, mediators, warriors, adoptive parents, and much more. Here is information on some historical Two Spirit people. The point of the umbrella term is to be inclusive.
Controversial is a weird way to phrase this. From what I've been told by friends who are indigenous and Two Spirit, most criticism of the term falls into two categories:
Those who think it either doesn't go far enough or is too broad. - Good faith, ongoing discussion to be had. These folks generally view Two Spirit as an improvement over the slur that was used by white people before.
Bigots with internalized colonial moral norms attempting to gatekeep. - Bad faith, similar ideology patterns to TERFs, widely denounced and ostracized.
I met an elder 2 years ago who identified as a two-spirit, and they were at least two decades older than 1990.
Yeah, not sure what point they're trying to make either.
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1990 was 30 years ago so even that helps put to bed the idea that non-binary gender is just a fad today's youth have come up with.
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:stupidpol: