Berdache Gender Culture

Words: 484

Pages: 2

Open Document

Gender Cultures
Gender is defined as the social or cultural characteristics rules, roles, tasks, values, and meanings that are assigned to people on the basis of sexual characteristics (Eller, 95). Although there are many examples of gender outside of the idea of male and female, two very fascinating examples of gender are Berdache and Meti.
The Native Americans had a very interesting tradition of males assuming female roles in society. In fact nearly 150 Native American societies partook in this practice (Eller, 95). This practice is called berdache or berdachism. Some of the native people obtained the name by their physical features such as having intersexual genitals. These people changed their genitalia by using the cultures practice of male or female circumcision. Genitals were not changed in every case. Many of the people in these native societies just decided to choose the role, of acting like the opposite gender, on their own accord. The berdache practice was mainly for men taking on female roles. Some societies had females that took on male roles, however, this took place much less often. Among the Native societies, where this was practiced, berdaches were …show more content…
This gender is often practiced by the people in Nepal and throughout the Himalayas. Very similarly to the Berdache the Meti are males that wear the clothes of females. “They do not consider themselves gay, but rather as a third gender that is interested in straight men” (A Map of Gender-Divers Cultures). Even though this gender exists in Nepal, the people of Nepal that do not practice this gender do not like to accept it. This lack of acceptance is because the idea is still considered a very taboo subject. (Haviland, 1). Looking at this idea today we might use to term “cross dresser” to describe the habits of these people. The Meti gender practices prostitution regularly and are not thought of very highly because of the diseases that they spread and

Gender Role and Native American Culture Essay

Throughout the early modern period, Native American and European cultures differed greatly. Europeans used these differences to judge “the sexual lives of the native peoples as savage, in contrast to their own ‘civilized’ customs,” and to justify “efforts to convert the native population to Christianity” (D'Emilio and Freedman 6). Native American sexuality deviated considerably from European sexuality, primarily in the areas of gender roles, social hierarchy, and accepted sexual ideals, which were…

Words 1537 - Pages 7

Essay about Anthro: Marriage and Native American Religions

Anthro 102 Exam 2: Article Notes Article 14: When Brothers Share a Wife * Three Tibetan brothers are about to enter fraternal polyandry * This is the ideal form of marriage and family in Tibet * Arranged by parents * Eldest brother is dominant in terms of authority * All brothers share the work and participate as sexual partners * Offspring are treated equally and there’s no attempt to link children biologically to one brother * Tibetans choose polyandry for materialistic…

Words 3732 - Pages 15

Two Spirit Identity Analysis

stands for. Two- Spirit refers to a person who has both a masculine and a feminine spirit and is used by some first nation people to describe their sexual, gender, and or /or spiritual identity. Most non-native GLBT and queers were not engaged with the work of Two-Spirit organizers but were interested in the history of their sexual and gender diversity. Queer was considered strange and unsettling. Two-Spirit doesn't describe a Native sexual minority instead its identity is questioned the colonial…

Words 625 - Pages 3

Displaying Gender Essay

Is gender determined by nature or nurture? While there have been strong arguments for both sides, I tend to lean towards the idea that it is a combination of both. Gender stereotyping begins before a baby is even born. Male babies are thought to behave one way and female babies another. With this already ingrained stereotyping it is seems nearly impossible to say which behavior is actually biological and which are nurtured through beliefs about gender. When looking closely at most aspects of sex…

Words 1252 - Pages 6

Gay Marriage Research Paper

more men. Secondly, same-sex unions were an integral part of the cultures of classical Greece and republican Rome, and imperial Rome recognized same-sex marriages. “During the Middle Ages the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches celebrated same-sex unions, as did imperial China.... Marriages in the so-called berdache tradition of gender-crossing effeminate men and 'amazon' women have been documented for dozens of other cultures in Africa, Australia, and Asia” (Eskridge 55). Others argue…

Words 1876 - Pages 8

Anthropology Final Notes Essay example

with others to produce implements like sickles. Soft hammer Pressure flaking I. The Natufians Mesolithic Living in what are now Israel, Jordan A. Natuifan Subsistence emphasized the collection of wild seeds that could be stored B. Natufian Culture Built circular pit houses buried their dead in communal cemeteries earliest know people to store plant foods Burials show some evidence of social differentiation On average sites 5 times larger than their predecessors C. Artifacts Grinding stones…

Words 6850 - Pages 28

Essay on Privilege: Copyright and Applicable Copyright Law

Robert Stephenson Smyth (1857–1941), 48 Bar Mitzvah, 50 Barnum, Phineas Taylor (1810–1891), 51 Barton, Bruce (1886–1967), 54 Baseball, 55 Basketball, 58 Battered Husband Syndrome, 62 Batterer Intervention Programs, 64 Battering, 67 Beat Poets, 70 Beer, 73 Berdache, See Native American Masculinities; Two Spirit People Bergman, Ingmar (1918–), 74 Birth Control, See Contraception Bisexuality, 76 Black Masculinities, 78 Black Panthers, 82 Blackface Minstrelsy, 84 Blaxploitation, 85 Blues, 86…

Words 2111 - Pages 9