LogFAQs > #970990309

Trevor_Belmont posted...

What does "two-spirit" mean?

Two-spirit is a (rather reductive) modern term used to describe non-binary gender identities that originate in indigenous American cultures which were forcibly suppressed as part of the genocide of said indigenous Americans. Due to the current socio-political situation involving trans rights as well as increasing interest in both non-binary history and indigenous American culture, you might see the term pop up occasionally in the future.

The wikipedia page linked above is useful if you're interested in more details, but probably the one thing worth noting in particular is that many cultures outside of the dominant one we are familiar with not only did not demonize people who did not fall into binary categories of sex or gender or sought to "fix" them through abuse or mutilation, but often outright venerated them. Two-spirit identities are a part that very different social norm.