The Native American Berdache: An Introduction

[Shana A]

The Native American Berdache: An Introduction
by Ojibwa
Sat May 29, 2010 at 09:10:55 AM PDT

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/29/871128/-The-Native-American-Berdache:-An-Introduction-

In American society today there is some debate over gender and sexual identities. While there are some who are that there are only genders—male and female—and this should define the natural order of things, there are others who point out the wide variety of sexual orientation. To add to this discussion, I would like to add some information about Native American gender identities.

Indian cultures in general did not view gender/sexuality as being restricted to just two categories. While some modern writers speak of the Indian berdache as a third gender, it's not quite that simple. The berdache was not a third category, but a way of referring to a continuum of human behavior that doesn't fit neatly into the European notions of male and female.