Strange Country This

The native people of North America shared a common characteristic across the country; many tribes had a third or even fourth gender. Called berdaches by anthropologists today, these were men who participated in woman's activities, and woman who took on men's roles. Berdaches were seen as the result of a supernatural dream or vision, or sanctioned by tribal mythology. Though there were differences in tribes, there were traits that linked berdaches across tribal boundaries. These were specialized work roles, gender difference, spiritual sanction and same-sex relation. Berdaches were described by their work roles. A male berdache would show interest and aptitude at traditional woman's work, and a woman berdache would show skill in the fighting arts. They also had activities unique to a berdache. Male berdaches would have what was considered the temperament of a woman, and they would dress like woman (not all the time though, perhaps only when performing traditional woman's duties), take on woman's social roles and lifestyle. However, many male berdaches did participate in war activities, so a berdache was not simply a man who was scared of war. A female berdache would have the temperament of a man, and would dress in man's clothing, take on a man's social role and live like a man. Berdaches were either a spiritual or mythological creation. They also formed same-sex sexual relations. Men would sometimes seek out berdaches who possessed skill on the battle field for sex because they believed it was a way to share his strength. Berdaches were high-ranking individuals in tribes, and sometimes feared because of their supernatural ability. They were given respect for their differences and privileges.
This is a striking contrast to today, where there is really no third gender. People try to make it black and white, either male or female, and there is no official gender role for people who do not want to subscribe to either. It was one of the first things I decided when I was introduced to the concept of gender roles, that there is no correct gender and people are what they feel like. I wish gender wasn't focused so much on someone's sexuality. If you were to put labels on the various sexualities that are commonly used, there is straight, gay, lesbian and bi. But what about people who are straight sexually but act and think like the opposite sex? Gay or lesbian sexually but don't fall into the flamboyant category for gays and the butch category for lesbians? I feel that people should be accepted for whoever they feel like and not put into a category for just a handful of their actions or behaviors. It would be a lot less stress it people didn't feel like they had to conform to sexual descriptions and one action outside of the norm for that sexuality could potentially put you in another.