Trump is using the white supremacy playbook of "protecting women" and "protecting children" to uphold the colonizing, patriarchal notion of the gender binary.
“Using the language of ‘child protection’ to justify the oppression of trans youth betrays the very values this month is meant to uphold.”
#Minneapolis #powwow celebrates belonging for #TwoSpirit, #queer community
#TwoSpiritPowwow invites natives to dress and dance on their own terms.
By Auds Jenkins
June 23, 2023
"Em Matson leaned intently over a long table to arrange the delicate pieces of water lily appliqué.
"Amid the mechanical whir of sewing machines and the lively chatter during a community regalia making night, Matson zeroed in on the task at hand: finishing their ribbon pants in time for the Two Spirit Powwow.
"On Saturday, New Native Theater will sponsor Minneapolis' second annual 'Reclaiming Our Identities' Two Spirit Powwow, part of a burgeoning movement of powwows across the country that honor Two Spirit and #indigiqueer (Indigenous and queer) people.
"'I can't wait to see everybody turn out. I know that if you come specifically to this powwow, it means you support our community,' said Wase Mannidu Ikwe, a Two Spirit person of the Rocky Boy Chippewa Cree Tribe. 'It's nice to see our allies. As Two Spirits, we make large impacts in the native community. We are valid.'
"'Two Spirit' is an umbrella term derived from the #Anishnaabe '#NiizhManidoowag' (literally translated as "two spirits") that describes native people who exist outside the #GenderBinary and hold sacred roles in their communities.
"Popularized by activists in the 1990s, the term honors multiplicity within native conceptions of gender identity and spirituality. It also reflects a pre-colonial legacy of gender diversity that is being reclaimed today.
"'Prior to European #colonization, #GenderDiversity was the norm for many tribes. Gender was based on your roles and responsibilities, not what you looked like,' said Matson, a Two Spirit of the Sault Ste. Marie Ojibwe and one of the organizers of Minneapolis' Two Spirit Powwow.
"In the months leading up to the powwow, organizers have hosted regalia-making nights for local Two Spirit and indigiqueer folks to make ceremonial clothing that authentically represents their identities.
"'Our goal was for you to come and make whatever makes you feel comfortable,' said organizer Beth Seidl of the White Earth Band of Chippewa. 'We wanted everyone to feel safe, without any chance of someone coming by and saying, 'You're a boy. Why are you making a ribbon skirt?' if that's not how they identify."
#Minnesota #Decolonize #NonBinary
#GBLTQI #Activism
#Reclamation #Indigiqueer
How Does One Feel One’s Gender?
I don’t know what it means to feel “masculine.”
Photo by Tim Mossholder on UnsplashEver since I discovered that I’m nonbinary, I’ve been reflecting on what gender is supposed to be, and I’m just ending up confused. Some people talk about feeling “masculine” or “feminine” but I don’t really know what it means, other than acting in accordance with the way that society decides that “men” and “women” should act.
People are born with a certain set of genitals, on the basis of this, society says “male” or “female.” This is already problematic. If you think that the biological sex binary is a given, I invite you to listen to this TED talk:
https://youtu.be/stUl_OapUso?si=DizHKNWPUynGjMZ_
I already knew that the biological basis for the binary is on shaky ground. However, there is nothing like someone speaking from actual lived experience to sharpen your understanding.
I’ve mentioned above that on top of biological sex, society imposes a series of behavioral conventions that define what men and women are. Men should act this way. Women should act that way. This is the gender binary. When a man acts in the way a woman should, it is deemed unnatural. Same when a woman acts in the way a man should.
I used to think that if I declared myself nonbinary, it was from an ideological standpoint more than anything else, but I don’t think this is the case. I’m just puzzled when people talk about feeling their gender, because this is something I don’t experience, or that I experience only faintly.
The gender binary is a complete fabrication from society. It is mere convention. It is not nature itself that compels those we call men to be competitive, or to be the provider in a couple, but society. It used to be that women couldn’t get credit without their husband’s approval. It is not nature that dictated this, but society. This restriction disappeared, not because of any change in nature, but because of changes in how society sees the gender binary.
Thus, it is that when I talk about my nonbinary nature, I talk about behavior. This is only because society itself distinguishes one side of the binary from the other in terms of behavior. It happens from time to time that someone interjects that gender identity is not the same as gender expression. Yes, this is true, but it has no bearing on what I am saying.
Let me make this clear. I’m not the gender police. You absolutely can be a feminine man, or a masculine woman, or any other variation. I won’t get on your case for it, and may even give you romantic love. However, as far as I am concerned, when it comes to evaluating whether I am man, woman, or nonbinary, my behavior is a critical component of the analysis.
So society, just like it has made me think that I was neurotypical by treating me like a neurotypical person, has also made me think that I am a man by treating me like a man. This is where gender dysphoria sets in. Yes, I am well versed in looking the part. Yes, I’ve been encultured in manhood, and, usually, I role-play a man. However, there are some behaviors that are required of me, as a man, that I don’t want to engage in. Hence, the gender dysphoria that occurs when I’m pushed to engage in those behaviors.
Still, I don’t feel the male gender in my life. I don’t feel special enjoyment when I do manly things. The notion of whether an act is manly or not does not figure in my decisions. For instance, my relationship with sports has been quite tepid. I used to watch racing, and that was it, as far as sports were concerned. I don’t anymore. I don’t think I’m missing anything important. I’m not pining after sports. It is not somehow missing from my life as a man.
It is only because society insisted that I am a man, and I believed society, that I thought that I was a man. Since I do not feel my gender, where does this lead me, but to the conclusion that I am in fact nonbinary?
#AutisticWriters #behavior #enby #gender #GenderBinary #GenderDysphoria #GenderExpression #GenderIdentity #nonbinary #SocialConvention #YourAutisticLife
https://www.yourautisticlife.com/2024/07/08/how-does-one-feel-ones-gender/
"Others have proposed that individuals with autism are more prone to reject ideas they perceive as flawed or logically inconsistent (Kristensen & Broome, 2016), such as social conditioning and social norms (Ansara & Hegarty, 2011), and this facilitates 'coming out.'"
