Title: The Third Gender in Native American Tribes – SexInfo Online
Headings: The Third Gender in Native American Tribes
The Third Gender in Native American Tribes
History of the Third Gender in Native American Culture
The story of We’Wha
The Two Spirit and Its Relation to Modern Day
References

Content: The Third Gender in Native American Tribes – SexInfo Online
Beliefs and Sexuality, Sex Around the World
The Third Gender in Native American Tribes
History of the Third Gender in Native American Culture
Before Christianization mangled their culture, numerous Native American tribes accepted a third gender. The third gender (also known as “two spirits” or “llamana”) were biological males that were culturally identified as belonging to a gender that is separate from male and female .² The population of a fourth gender, biological females that didn’t identify with the gender they were born as, was much smaller. According to Trista Wilson, there were about 155 Native American tribes that culturally accepted the third and fourth gender.²
Compared to many other Western societies, Native American tribes had tolerant ways of understanding sexuality and how important gender is for determining an individual’s identity.³ One particular tribe, the Zuni people, believed that those who discovered themselves as third gender were the smartest and toughest in the clan. ³ According to most tribes, third genders were formed by a supernatural power, and learned of their third gender through visions or dreams.² Those who possessed “two spirits” were revered, as most tribes held the belief that the third gender had a strong relationship with “the Creator” because they were able to link the gap between men and women.³
Third gender could be considered parallel to transsexual, but it is significant to note that people of the third gender did not take any measures to physically become a member of the opposite sex. Native American cultures truly thought that “two spirits” had their own separate gender, and unlike modern society, there existed no attached stigma. It is to be emphasized that these people were not considered homosexuals, and that the concept of third gender was less about sexual orientation (although third genders did form sexual relationships with same and different sex individuals) and more about gender roles. For example, a third gender woman would take on more female traditional roles, and her/his craft was favorable compared to the other women. Since the roles between men and women were so distinct in these Native American tribes, it was prized to be a person of the third gender, as they could complete both duties for males and females. Another main idea that is central to understanding the third gender is that they did not adhere to the binary standards of either being fully male or fully female. These highly respected individuals experienced the gender spectrum fluidly and they were never condemned for who they were.