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Very interesting read. The thing stood out to me most is that it says the islands didn't start getting discriminatory until they started encountering western cu
by Rotdhizon 8y ago
Very interesting read. The thing stood out to me most is that it says the islands didn't start getting discriminatory until they started encountering western culture and having it rub off on them. They still aren't overly discriminatory, but it is a minor side effect of contact with external influences.
It is fascinating to know that there are islands where gender identify doesn't matter. If you want to be a woman, just act like one and you will be accepted. I figured all places in the world shunned that type of behavior as a community, but these people had no outside influence on their behavior. To see that type of acceptance come from a natural perspective is eye opening.
It was hard to tell how men are treated. It keeps going back and forth, one sentence says the men are treated fairly, the next says they are bound by the woman's decisions. Then that the men have no problems, but still have basically all their decisions made by woman.
It is worth noting that the article mentions the hardships these people face when going off the island to the mainland places. Sure their gender acceptance at home is fine, but they face the typical discrimination you'd expect from any established society.
- detcader 8y ago> If you want to be a woman, just act like one And what does this mean?
- Rotdhizon 8y agoExactly what I said? The article states that those who act like woman from a young age, simply become them. No surgery, nothing physical changes, they simply are treated as woman from that point on.
- Joeboy 8y agoI think the issue there is that in order for "act like a woman" to be meaningful, you have to have a somewhat fixed notion of what womanly behaviour is, which is hard to disentangle from sexual stereotyping. At least if you apply it to my culture, I don't feel qualified to comment on what happens in Guna Yala.
- bytematic 8y agoTypically gender roles in societies like these (tribal) or others that don't care about gender-sex association are more pronounced.
- Meerax 8y agoI think you're trying to get at gender roles/norms. Since "woman" is rather clearly defined already. Gender roles are a fluid and ever changing concept, rooted in zeitgeist.
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- delecti 8y ago> I figured all places in the world shunned that type of behavior as a community, but these people had no outside influence on their behavior Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying here, but there are countless societies through the ages and today with the concept of a third gender, or where gender isn't intrinsically linked to sex.
- 08-15 8y ago> If you want to be a woman, just act like one and you will be accepted. But you still aren't a woman, you are omeggid.
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- Raphmedia 8y agoIt's quite common. When I first struggled with my gender indentity, I looked at the world's history. Our Western societies puts such shame on individuals not on the edges of the gender spectrum that it's easy to think you are outright crazy. I found many example of it thoughout history. I never made a complete list but here are some that comes to mind: - Samoan fa'afafine, - Native American Two-Spirits (umbralla term, each tribe has their own word), - South Asian Hijras, - Ethiopian Ashtime, - Hawaiin Māhū, - Philippines's multiple gender identities (baklâ, bayot,etc.), Etc.
- rsynnott 8y agoQuite a few societies have some concept of a third gender, and sometimes more than that. Most Western examples are 19th century or later (at least post-classical; the ancient Greeks had a couple), but there are multiple far older examples in other parts of the world.