What’s wild about “two-spirit” is that it’s not a really definite concept (that is, it is a neologism from 1990 that does not have a universal understanding among tribal traditions) but what it does accomplish is replacing the perjorative European anthropological term
slur
berdache, from Arabic burdaj “slave” meaning basically a young male submissive gay partner
What’s wild about “two-spirit” is that it’s not a really definite concept (that is, it is a neologism from 1990 that does not have a universal understanding among tribal traditions) but what it does accomplish is replacing the perjorative European anthropological term
slur
berdache, from Arabic burdaj “slave” meaning basically a young male submissive gay partner
TIL that term is considered a slur. I remember learning about them in anthropology class ~15 years ago and that was the term used.
So is the respectful terminology today to use whichever modern LGBTQ label is accurate, or should I use two-spirit in historical context?
When speaking of first nations and amerindians who are queer and self-identify as two-spirit, use two-spirit. Historically, I don’t know.