Despite what some misguided, non-anarchist, supposedly anti-civ people say, civilization and gender policing go hand-in-hand. Countless indigenous cultures around the world have recognized what might be called trans or non-binary genders, including:
- Two-spirit - umbrella term for genders within various North American cultures, including the Ojibwe ikwekaazo and ininiikaazo, and Lakota wíŋkte
- Muxe - of the Zapotec
- Five genders - of the Bugis of Southeast Asia
- "third genders" - of the Maori, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Hawai'i and Cook Islanders.
- many, many more
Trans and non-binary gender expression have sometimes been tolerated within civilized societies, but are more often repressed. This strategy is an integral part of the male domination imperative found throughout the history of civilizations, and a marked contrast to non-civilized societies, and societies resistant to cultural colonization.
celebratedrecluse wrote
Thanks for this resource, a great thing to pin on the forum. It is also good to recognize that Trans & NB identities only exist in a present-day framework in certain cultural environments (ie, "The West"), and should not be extrapolated cross-culturally in a way that erases the distinctness of various gender indigenous gender identities, roles and expressions. Doing so can be colonial itself, even if it is not conceived of explicitly that way. We are stronger as a queer & trans community when we work to understand the complex history of gender & sexuality across the world.