Start Date
5-19-2021 1:20 PM
End Date
5-19-2021 2:35 PM
Disciplines
History
Subjects
Gender-nonconforming people -- History, Gender-nonconforming people -- Cultural aspects, Gender nonconformity -- Cultural aspects, Sexual minorities -- History
Abstract
Nonbinary people existed in many different cultures and often held special or important roles before their presence was decimated by colonization. Despite this, nonbinary people are still around today, whether with a cultural aspect to their identity or not. In this paper, three cultural examples are given. The hijra of India have been around for a long time, and are considered able to bless people. The British came and enacted laws that led them to be majorly stigmatized, and today they are still struggling to gain acceptance. Similarly, in Indonesia, the bissu have been priests for hundreds of years, and then when Islam came into the area, they were almost eradicated. They now are trying to survive by coexisting with Islam. Finally, many Native American cultures have had a nonbinary gender with a spiritual aspect. When Westerners came to America and the culture was systematically taken apart, the gender systems were almost lost as well. Today, nonbinary people in all cultures still face many different challenges, but they are also gaining visibility and acceptance.
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/35800
Included in
Session 1: Panel 2: Presenter 3 (Paper) -- Nonbinary Significance: Roles and Perceptions Throughout History
Nonbinary people existed in many different cultures and often held special or important roles before their presence was decimated by colonization. Despite this, nonbinary people are still around today, whether with a cultural aspect to their identity or not. In this paper, three cultural examples are given. The hijra of India have been around for a long time, and are considered able to bless people. The British came and enacted laws that led them to be majorly stigmatized, and today they are still struggling to gain acceptance. Similarly, in Indonesia, the bissu have been priests for hundreds of years, and then when Islam came into the area, they were almost eradicated. They now are trying to survive by coexisting with Islam. Finally, many Native American cultures have had a nonbinary gender with a spiritual aspect. When Westerners came to America and the culture was systematically taken apart, the gender systems were almost lost as well. Today, nonbinary people in all cultures still face many different challenges, but they are also gaining visibility and acceptance.