As contemporary Native and non-Native Americans explore various forms of "gender bending" and gay and lesbian identities, interest has grown in "berdaches," the womanly men and manly women who existed in many Native American tribal cultures. Yet attempts to find current role models in these historical figures sometimes distort and oversimplify the historical realities.

This book provides an objective, comprehensive study of Native American women-men and men-women across many tribal cultures and an extended time span. Sabine Lang explores such topics as their religious and secular roles; the relation of the roles of women-men and men-women to the roles of women and men in their respective societies; the ways in which gender-role change was carried out, legitimized, and explained in Native American cultures; the widely differing attitudes toward women-men and men-women in tribal cultures; and the role of these figures in Native mythology. Lang's findings challenge the apparent gender equality of the "berdache" institution, as well as the supposed universality of concepts such as homosexuality.

"This is a major and significant contribution to the studies of gender diversity, sexuality, and cultural constructions of gender and sex roles. In addition...it is the only source that empirically and theoretically focuses on female sex and gender options in Native North America." -- Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Professor of Women Studies and Anthropology

About the Author

Sabine Lang is an independent scholar who holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Hamburg. She is the coeditor of Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality.

Book Information
ISBN 9780292747012
Author Sabine Lang
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint University of Texas Press
Publisher University of Texas Press
Weight(grams) 594g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm