Trans Conversations, Articles & Two-Spirit

The Lecture Quiz: Transgender Conversations, Articles, & Two-Spirit will be on the material found in each of the tabs. The quiz will be on this material only. Be sure to review each tab.

Study guide for the quiz

Videos: Watch and understand the messages from the speakers in each of the videos.

Two-Spirit: Understand the definition of two-spirit and it's cultural roots.

Article 1: What types of moral values are associated with transphobia

Article 2: How does social identity theory and beliefs about gender contribute to tranphobia?

Article 3: What are examples of transphobia? What is cissexism? What is gender essentialism?

Video 1: Trans People Answer Most Googled Questions
Video 2: Jackson Bird
Video 3: Geena Rocero
Video 4: LB Hannahs
Video 5: ASAP Science
Two-Spirit Explained
Articles

Video 1: Trans People Answer Most Googled Questions

Watch this entire video for diverse perspectives on questions people often pose to trans folks.

Video 2: Jackson Bird, How to Talk (and Listen) to Transgender People

This is a terrific talk! Watch the entire video.

Video 3: Geena Rocero, Why I Come Out

Another good talk. Also note, some trans individuals prefer to not come out in many situations, and instead prefer to simply be recognized as their authentic gender identity. So in many situations, some trans individuals may prefer to be recognized as male (their true experienced gender), rather than a transmale, or vice versa female, rather than transfemale. Reasons are many, and everyone is different, but just wanted to give you that context before watching. :)

Video 4: LB Hannahs, What it's like to be a Transgender Dad

This talk provides insights into lived experiences.

Video 5: ASAP Science, The Science of Being Transgender

This talk outlines some studies that examine the connection between sexual dimorphism of the brain and transgender identities.

Two-Spirit Explained

First read this passage from Indian Health Services.

Two-Spirit

Though Two Spirit may now be included in the umbrella of LGBTQ, The term "Two Spirit" does not simply mean someone who is a Native American/Alaska Native and gay.

Traditionally, Native American two spirit people were male, female, and sometimes intersexed individuals who combined activities of both men and women with traits unique to their status as two spirit people. In most tribes, they were considered neither men nor women; they occupied a distinct, alternative gender status. In tribes where two spirit males and females were referred to with the same term, this status amounted to a third gender. In other cases, two spirit females were referred to with a distinct term and, therefore, constituted a fourth gender. Although there were important variations in two spirit roles across North America, they shared some common traits:

Specialized work roles. Male and female two spirit people were typically described in terms of their preference for and achievements in the work of the "opposite" sex or in activities specific to their role. Two spirit individuals were experts in traditional arts - such as pottery making, basket weaving, and the manufacture and decoration of items made from leather. Among the Navajo, two spirit males often became weavers, usually women and men's work, as well as healers, which was a male role. By combining these activities, they were often among the wealthier members of the tribe. Two spirit females engaged in activities such as hunting and warfare, and became leaders in war and even chiefs.
Gender variation. A variety of other traits distinguished two spirit people from men and women, including temperament, dress, lifestyle, and social roles.
Spiritual sanction. Two spirit identity was widely believed to be the result of supernatural intervention in the form of visions or dreams and sanctioned by tribal mythology. In many tribes, two spirit people filled special religious roles as healers, shamans, and ceremonial leaders.
Same-sex relations. Two spirit people typically formed sexual and emotional relationships with non-two spirit members of their own sex, forming both short- and long-term relationships. Among the Lakota, Mohave, Crow, Cheyenne, and others, two spirit people were believed to be lucky in love, and able to bestow this luck on others.

Most Indigenous communities have specific terms in their own languages for the gender-variant members of their communities and the social and spiritual roles these individuals fulfill; with over 500 surviving Native American cultures, attitudes about sex and gender can be very diverse. Even with the modern adoption of pan-Indian terms like Two Spirit, not all cultures will perceive two spirit people the same way, or welcome a pan-Indian term to replace the terms already in use by their cultures.

The disruptions caused by conquest and disease, together with the efforts of missionaries, government agents, boarding schools, and white settlers resulted in the loss of many traditions in Native communities. Two spirit roles, in particular, were singled out for condemnation, interference, and many times violence. As a result, two spirit traditions and practices went underground or disappeared in many tribes.

Today, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender native people throughout North America are reviving the two spirit role and its traditions. National gatherings of two spirit people have been held since the early 1990s, and regional gatherings are held in many parts of the country.

Next

Watch this video from the lovely Ma-Nee Chacaby, who explains elements of two-spirit culture and her personal experiences.

Then

Watch this video for more context about the two-spirit culture and how Europeans sought to destroyed and oppressed Native American cultures.

Articles

Read each of these three articles.

Article 1

www.sciencedaily.com

Certain moral values may lead to more prejudice, discrimination

Date:: December 20, 2018
Source:: American Psychological Association

People who value following purity rules over caring for others are more likely to view gay and transgender people as less human, which leads to more prejudice and support for discriminatory public policies, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.

"After the Supreme Court decision affirming marriage equality and the debate over bathroom rights for transgender people, we realized that the arguments were often not about facts but about opposing moral beliefs," said Andrew E. Monroe, PhD, of Appalachian State University and lead author of the study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

"Thus, we wanted to understand if moral values were an underlying cause of prejudice toward gay and transgender people."

Monroe and his co-author, Ashby Plant, PhD, of Florida State University, focused on two specific moral values -what they called sanctity, or a strict adherence to purity rules and disgust over any acts that are considered morally contaminating, and care, which centers on disapproval of others who cause suffering without just cause -- because they predicted those values might be behind the often-heated debates over LGBTQ rights.

The researchers conducted five experiments with nearly 1,100 participants. Overall, they found that people who prioritized sanctity over care were more likely to believe that gay and transgender people, people with AIDS and prostitutes were more impulsive, less rational and, therefore, something less than human. These attitudes increased prejudice and acceptance of discriminatory public policies, according to Monroe.

Conversely, people who endorsed care over sanctity were more likely to show compassion for those populations, as well as support public policies that would help them.

"The belief that a person is no better than an animal can become a justification for tolerating and causing harm," said Plant. "When we believe that someone lacks self-control and discipline, we may make moral judgments about their life choices and behaviors, which can lead down a dark path of discrimination and hate."

The first experiment involved people who were generally moderate politically and religiously. They rated their agreement with five moral values (care, fairness, sanctity, loyalty and authority) and then read short descriptions of five different men: a gay man, a man with AIDS, an African-American man, an obese man and a white man. Afterward, the participants filled out questionnaires about their thoughts on each man's state of mind (e.g., "John is rational and logical") and emotions (e.g., "John is rigid and cold") and their attitudes and feelings of warmth toward each man.

"We found that people who placed more value on sanctity were more likely to believe that the gay man and man with AIDS had less rational minds than the obese, African-American or white men," said Monroe.

Experiment two focused on how political affiliation might affect responses. The researchers recruited an equal number of self-identified liberal and conservative participants and used the same morality survey as in the first experiment, but this time, participants rated their thoughts on the state of mind for only four men: a gay man, a man with AIDS, an African-American man and a white man. The liberals and conservatives then assessed their feelings of prejudice for each man (e.g., "I would rather not have a black person/gay person/person with AIDS in the same apartment building I live in"), their attitudes about public policies that would help or harm gay people (e.g., conversion therapy) and people with AIDS and their willingness to help them by being involved with pro-gay/AIDS awareness activities.

Liberals tended to value care and fairness more while conservatives were more focused on loyalty, authority and sanctity. And the people who valued sanctity were more likely to discriminate against the gay man and man with AIDS but not the African-American or white men, according to the study.

Experiment three focused on perceptions of transgender people and found that participants who endorsed sanctity were more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes about transgender people and to support discriminatory public policies.

The fourth experiment tested whether temporarily increasing sanctity values, relative to care, increased dehumanization and prejudice. Experimenters collected survey responses on a college campus on two separate days -Ash Wednesday -- a day associated with sanctity and spiritual cleansing in the Christian faith -- and a non-religious day. Participants filled out a survey intended to assess their moral beliefs and attitudes toward a woman described as a prostitute.

Participants surveyed on Ash Wednesday reported much higher concerns about sanctity compared to care and this caused participants to become more likely to dehumanize and express negative feelings towards the prostitute, according to the study.

The final study explored whether heightening concern about care was an effective method of reducing prejudice about gay and transgender people. To prime care values, participants listened to a radio news clip about the importance of safe spaces for people of color, while in the control condition participants listened to a clip about Brexit. Afterward, the participants rated their moral values, made judgments of a transgender woman, a gay man and a white man and indicated their support or disapproval of three public policies that would either help or harm gay and transgender people (e.g., national legislation for marriage equality, banning transgender people from the military).

Participants who listened to the clip about safe spaces emphasized caring as an important moral value over those who listened to the clip about Brexit. Caring individuals showed less prejudice toward gay and transgender people and less acceptance of discriminatory policies against them.

"Our study suggests that a person's moral values can be altered, at least temporarily, and that highlighting certain values, like caring, can be an effective way to combat prejudice," said Monroe. "We hope that by showing the moral roots of bias and discrimination against sexual and gender minorities we encourage others to conduct further research to increase equity and inclusion."

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

Materials provided by American Psychological Association. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Andrew E. Monroe, E. Ashby Plant. The dark side of morality: Prioritizing sanctity over care motivates denial of mind and prejudice toward sexual outgroups.. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2018; DOI: 10.1037/xge0000537

Article 2

www.psychologytoday.com

What Precisely Do Transgender People Threaten?

Recent research explores the link between the gender binary and transprejudice.

Posted Sep 24, 2018

New research has attempted to better understand the circumstances under which individuals feel threatened by gender nonconforming behavior. In general, we know that people tend to respond negatively to individuals who do not adhere to the gender binary—that is, the notion that there are two sexes, male and female, and that whichever sex you are should clearly dictate your gender and gender role behaviors as either a man or a woman. If a person is biologically male but behaves in stereotypically feminine ways, we can call this gender nonconformity within a cisgender individual (i.e., someone whose biological sex is the same as their gender identity). Similarly, a transgender individual (i.e., someone whose sex identified at birth does not align with their gender identity) can be seen as gender nonconforming simply by being transgender.

Researchers at St. Louis University sought to determine which of these two types of gender nonconformity would be viewed as more unsettling to those who value the gender binary. While it is possible for anyone to stray from the gender binary in small or large ways, often transgender individuals seem to be perceived as a greater threat to binary views of gender than gender nonconforming cisgender people.

Kristin Broussard and Dr. Ruth Warner proposed that one reason for this might be that transgender individuals can be perceived as simultaneously transgressing the gender norms of BOTH binary genders. For example, a trans woman (i.e., someone assigned male at birth who now identifies as a woman) is transgressing male norms by identifying as a woman, but also may be seen as transgressing the norms of being a woman by not appearing feminine enough. Indeed, other research has found that transgender women are particularly at risk for prejudice and violence due to society’s general tendency to police femininity and to punish transgressions of misplaced femininity.

In their manuscript, Broussard and Warner attempted to identify how gender binarism, or the “belief that there are only two genders, corresponding with biological sex,” may be associated with transprejudice.

The researchers predicted that for individuals high in gender binarism, trans individuals would be perceived as particularly psychologically threatening because they stand in the face of something these participants strongly believe to be an essential, immutable, human trait: gender and, by extension, the connection between sex and gender.

The researchers focused on a notion referred to as “distinctiveness threat.” According to Social Identity Theory our social identities, or the groups to which we belong, help us to define our personal identities. To the extent that the boundaries around the groups that are important to our identities become blurred, we may experience distinctiveness threat. In short, the uniqueness of who we are as an individual comes under threat when the boundaries around group definitions that we use to define ourselves shift or become malleable.

For example, imagine that you are a police officer and that being a police officer is central to your identity. Then imagine that the category of a police officer was replaced with “Security Professional,” and that this new category would include police officers, security guards, and installers of home security systems. This experience would trigger high levels of distinctiveness threat in police officers whose identities were highly enmeshed with being a police officer.

Nearly everyone in a Western society defines a good portion of their personal identity by their gender. Many names are considered to be appropriate for only one gender, and our name is perhaps the most identifying part of who we are as an individual. Similarly, our gender often dictates the clothing we wear, the style of haircut we get, and whether we grow or remove our facial hair! Thus, for many individuals, the notion of blurring the boundaries around gender can be experienced in the same way police officers might respond to a proposal to rename them as ‘security professionals,’ with nothing left to distinguish them from a mall cop or a summer student installing home security systems.

Thus, the researchers expected that individuals who highly value a binary system of gender, and who define what it means to be a man or woman very rigidly, would be more likely to experience distinctiveness threat when faced with gender nonconforming behavior from either cisgender or transgender individuals, but especially from transgender individuals. As Broussard put it, “Some people find transgender people threatening because they do not fit into one of two gender boxes, or, they do fit into one of the boxes, but not the one they were assigned to at birth.”

The researchers ran three studies. In each study participants read stories about hypothetical individuals who were either highly gender conforming or gender nonconforming, and who were either transgender or cisgender. After reading the stories, participants were asked how much they thought they would like the person in the story, how much they accepted the person’s gender expression and the perceived distinctiveness threat that they experienced as a result of reading the story.

Across the three studies, they found that, in general, participants reported liking gender conforming and cisgender individuals more than transgender and gender nonconforming individuals (e.g., masculine women, feminine men). Participants also viewed transgender and gender nonconforming individuals as more threatening to the boundaries defining what it means to be a man or a woman (i.e., greater distinctiveness threat). However, it was gender-conforming transgender individuals (i.e., feminine transgender women, or masculine transgender men) who were viewed as being the most threatening towards gender boundaries. As Broussard put it, “it is likely that conforming transgender individuals (because they can ‘pass’ as their authentic gender) are especially threatening because they provide some evidence that there are more than two binary genders, or that [one’s] binary gender can be changed.”

In other words, if you strongly believe that there are only two sexes and that those two sexes always create two genders, and that it is not possible for someone to change from being one gender to another, being presented with a masculine trans man (someone who was identified female at birth) who visually and behaviorally is indistinguishable from a cisgender man, may be a very jarring experience that challenges binary beliefs about gender. Furthermore, gender conforming trans individuals may elicit distinctiveness threat because if you yourself are a man and hinge a great deal of your identity on being a man, what does this piece of your identity really mean if someone born female can ‘pass’ as being just “as much of a man” as you? Thus, the more an individual strongly believes in the gender binary, the more threatening transgender individuals (especially those who ‘pass’) are to that individual’s own personal identity as either a man or a woman.

Finally, it is important to emphasize that a transgender individual’s gender expression is not responsible for eliciting the prejudice of others. Rather, transprejudice stems from an internal process in which the person holding the prejudice experiences a threat to an aspect of their own identity, and thus lashes out against trans individuals as a means of trying to reaffirm the boundaries surrounding important aspects how they define their identity – in this case, their gender.

References

Broussard, K. A., & Warner, R. H. (2018). Gender Nonconformity Is Perceived Differently for Cisgender and Transgender Targets. Sex Roles, 1-20.

Broussard, K. A., Warner, R. H., & Pope, A. R. (2018). Too many boxes, or not enough? Preferences for how we ask about gender in cisgender, LGB, and gender-diverse samples. Sex Roles, 78(9-10), 606-624.

Ching, B. H. H., & Xu, J. T. (2018). The effects of gender neuroessentialism on transprejudice : An experimental study. Sex Roles, 78(3-4), 228-241.

Article 3

www.wikipedia.com

Transphobia (wikipedia entry)

Transphobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes, feelings or actions toward transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence, anger, or discomfort felt or expressed towards people who do not conform to social gender expectations.^[1]^[2] It is often expressed alongside homophobic views and hence is often considered an aspect of homophobia.^[3]^[4] Transphobia is a type of prejudice and discrimination, similar to racism and sexism,^[5] and transgender people of color are often subjected to all three forms of discrimination at once.^[6]

Child victims of transphobia experience harassment, school bullying, and/or violence in school, foster care, and social programs. Adult victims experience public ridicule, harassment including misgendering, taunts, threats of violence, robbery, and false arrest; many feel unsafe in public. A high percentage report being victims of sexual violence. Some are refused healthcare or suffer workplace discrimination, including being fired for being transgender, or feel under siege by conservative political or religious groups who oppose laws to protect them. They also suffer discrimination from some people within the movement for the rights of gender and sexual minorities.

Besides the increased risk of violence and other threats, the stress created by transphobia can cause negative emotional consequences which may lead to substance abuse, running away from home (in minors), and a higher rate of suicide.

In the Western world, there have been gradual changes towards the establishment of policies of non-discrimination and equal opportunity. The trend is also taking shape in developing nations. In addition, campaigns regarding the LGBT community are being spread around the world to improve social acceptance of nontraditional gender identities. The "Stop the Stigma" campaign by the UN is one such development.^[7]

Related concepts

The related concept of cissexism (also termed cisgenderism, cisnormativity or cissexual assumption, occasionally used synonymously with transphobia) is the appeal to norms that enforce the gender binary and gender essentialism, resulting in the oppression of gender variant, non-binary, and transgender identities.^[14] Cisgenderism refers to the assumption that, due to human sexual differentiation, one's gender is determined solely by a biological sex of male or female (based on the assumption that all people must have either an XX or XY sex-chromosome pair, or, in the case of cisgenderism, a bivalent male or female expression), and that trans people are inferior to cisgender people due to being in "defiance of nature".^[15] Cisgender privilege is the "set of unearned advantages that individuals who identify with their biological sex accrue solely due to having a cisgender identity".^[16]

Harassment and violence directed against transgender people is often called trans bashing, and can be physical, sexual or verbal. Whereas gay bashing is directed against a target's real or perceived sexual orientation, trans bashing is directed against the target's real or perceived expressed gender identity. The term has also been applied to hate speech directed at transgender people^[17] and to depictions of transgender people in the media that reinforce negative stereotypes about them.^[18] Notable victims of violent crimes motivated by transphobia include Brandon Teena, Gwen Araujo, Angie Zapata, Nizah Morris, and Lauren Harries.^[19]

Transprejudice is a term similar to transphobia, and refers to the negative valuing, stereotyping, and discriminatory treatment of individuals whose appearance and/or identity does not conform to current social expectations or conventional conceptions of gender.^[20]

^{Gender Essentialism}

Gender essentialism is a concept used to examine the attribution of fixed, intrinsic, innate qualities to women and men.^[1]^[2] In this theory, there are certain universal, innate, biologically- or psychologically-based features of gender that are at the root of observed differences in the behavior of men and women.^[3] In Western civilization, it is suggested in writings going back to ancient Greece.^[4]^:1 With the advent of Christianity, the earlier Greek model was expressed in theological discussions as the doctrine that there are two distinct sexes, male and female created by God, and that individuals are immutably one or the other.^[5] This view remained essentially unchanged until the middle of the 19th century.^[4] This changed the locus of the origin of the essential differences, in Sandra Bem's words, "from God's grand creation [to] its scientific equivalent: evolution's grand creation," but the belief in an immutable origin had not changed.^[4]^:2

Alternatives to gender essentialism were proposed in the mid-20th century. During second-wave feminism, Simone de Beauvoir and other feminists in the 1960s and 70s theorized that gender differences were socially constructed. In other words, people gradually conform to gender differences through their experience of the social world. More recently, Judith Butler theorized that people construct gender by performing it.

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