Genders Across the World

Did you know that the gender spectrum and transgender people have existed for a long time? In fact, it was so common that many cultures have records of their diverse genders. Right here in Canada, Blackfoot Indigenous people use the identity title “Ninauposkitzipxpe” to describe people who are assigned female at birth but take on traditionally male roles. The translation of Ninauposkitzipxpe to English is “manly-hearted woman”. Some of the roles that these individuals would complete were male professions and wearing male clothing. Shockingly, this idea of the Ninauposkitzipxpe people is somewhat equivalent to a modern day trans man. As a trans man, it makes me feel europhic to know that once, hundreds of years ago, people like me existed. On the other side of the world, in India, they also have gender queer identities. A “Hijira” refers to someone born in India, Pakistan, and/or Bangladesh, who was assigned male at birth but has adopted female roles and clothing. In Hinduism, Shiva, the God of destruction, is often referred to as a boy, but is sometimes also referred to as a girl, and even sexless. Hijra’s consider themselves a representation of Shiva, a third gender that incorporates both males and females. These are only two of many historical genders across the world, there is an overwhelming amount of countries who have evidence of gender queer culture in their past.