Westerners stereotype and demean multiple genders such as the two-spirited people in native societies.  This is easy enough to do, as biological sex determines gender identity in Western societies.  When encountering something new, one usually tries to classify it according to similar things that one is familiar with, despite how dissimilar the two things are in truth. 

The first assumption, and perhaps the most common, is that all two-spirits are homosexual.  Two-spirits play homosexual roles often, but being homosexual does not make one a two-spirit.  There are also homosexual men and women within tribes that are not two-spirits.  There is a difference between a man and a two-spirit and two homosexual men.  Anthropologist Walter Williams shows this when saying, [I]t is more accurately described as heterogender.  The [two-spirit] and his male partner do not occupy the same recognized gender (Williams).  Thus, there is a distinction between relationships between homosexual men in the tribe and straight men and berdache.  This is not to say that homosexuality was not accepted.  Before Western impact, gays and lesbians had complete acceptance within the tribe, as did two-spirited people.  As Western gender based solely on sex and homosexuality is condemned, classifying two-spirits as homosexuals was logical to them.  Because Westerners condemned homosexuality, the condemned two-spirits.  Consequently, the spread of western influence brought ridicule and stereotyping that grouped all native gender variations, whether they were homosexual or two-spirited, as one large group.

     Generalizations of two-spirits as a group often occur, usually under the term berdache, which is very condescending.  Historians and anthropologists alike tend to lump together all peoples with traits and sexualities not following European ideals of only two genders.  Therefore, all homosexuals and two-spirits were lumped together regardless of their society or sexual preference.  Stereotypes formed with ease under such generalizations.  The term berdache, which comes from the derogatory Old French words for homosexual man, two-spirited men soon after European contact.  Until recently, it has been the only name commonly applied to two-spirited people.  Two-spirit studies were done using whatever people were obliged to an interview, and often results were skewed because the interviewee would simply say what the person doing the study wanted to hear.  A Lakota two-spirit, stated, [w]e are all so different in so many ways Culturally and physically, we are all different.  Each tribe has its own name, its own structure. (Thunder).  Many two-spirits and their native communities accordingly argue that anthropologists and historians are mistaken to assume all two-spirits are alike, or that all gender variants among natives are by any means the same.  Western stereotyping on natives and subsequent contempt is misguided and ignorant.

     Westerners forced their ideology on these groups, and integrated condescending expressions into Native vocabulary.  This has completely changed native societies from being very accepting of two-spirits and homosexuals to shunning and ridiculing them.  As this occurs, young people within the tribe who have different sexual and occupational preferences find themselves without role models, which is most notable on urban reservations (Lang).  Often these children and young adults are simply classified as gay or lesbian unless elders within the tribe are still familiar with old two-spirit traditions (Lang).  Western slang has entered Native vocabulary, and confused young people meet ridicule, taunted for being a faggot, pervert, or homo (Earth).  These terms accompanied by the condescending ideology impressed by Western thought has changed the mindsets of many Native tribes, and has been the cause for many confused young people to face rejection by families and tribes.  This influx of Western thought has brought homophobia into areas where it had never been present.

     In societies less effected by Western ideology, the importance of two-spirits within society is still evident.  As described by a Navajo woman, They are seen as very compassionate people, who care for their families a lot and help people. (Williams).  Two-spirits are often the hardest and most skilled workers and are valued highly within the tribe (Williams).  As the name implied, two-spirits are thought to embody both male and female spirits, which makes them very valuable religiously within the tribe.  Two-spirits often take on the role of Shaman within the tribe and lead prayer and spiritual activities within the tribe (Williams).  Two-spirits also serve as healers and as teachers to youngsters of the tribe.  Gender variations outside the influence of Western societies still value and accept homosexuals and two-spirited peoples with open arms, and think highly of them. 

     Multiple genders within native societies have caused much ridicule and confusion after the spread of Western influence.  Instead of trying to understand and accept gender perspectives unique to Western beliefs, Europeans built stereotypes and ridiculed such foreign variations on gender.  This has caused problems for individuals within affected societies, and a growing homophobia within tribes that had been previously accepting. 

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Works Cited

Earth, Michael Red.  Traditional Influences on a contemporary Gay-Identified Sisseton Dakota.  Two-Spirit People.  Ed. Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang.  University of Illinois Press; Chicago, 1997.

Lang, Sabine.  Various Kinds of Two-Spirit People: Gender Variance and Homosexuality in Native American Communities.  Two-Spirit People.  Ed. Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang.  University of Illinois Press; Chicago, 1997.

Thunder, Beverly Little.  I Am a Lakota Woman. Two-Spirit People.  Ed. Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang.  University of Illinois Press; Chicago, 1997.

Williams, Walter L.  The Spirit and the Flesh.  Beacon Press; Boston, 1992.