Two-Spirited Bullessness

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOUGHTS: We could, should and, were it not for a few moralists, would do this better. Let's give it some thought: 

I can’t help it; it’s a weirdness in me. I like when families struggle to accept the gift of pending two-spiritedness in their kids. If you don’t know what that means, stop reading. You might figure it out and your soul will burn! And that would be a waste because I won’t be there to make s’mores!

Two-spirited people, as some of our Native brothers and sisters used to conceive, were people born of a delicate balance between genders. As with everywhere else, social circumstances helped them identify with one gender or the other -- sometimes with biological match, sometimes not -- letting the final determination come about through life situations and the fit of the individual’s humanity. That’s not a bad thing and it is something that parents, schools, communities and even religions should figure out how to come to terms with.

I used to joke about how feminine I am though few people would or do agree with that when they meet me. In fact, since being gay is in favor at the moment -- though we don’t get all the good brownie points like we used to; it seems we’re everywhere! -- I sometimes get the feeling people say I’m lying even about being gay, thinking I’m just trying to be artsy, hip and cool! Trust me, the one who claims that title knows better!

The thing about this issue is that it can be hard to watch when a culture is so wholly unprepared for the learning that lies ahead, even by those of us who want more of the awareness to happen. Most people think that transgenderism is the next great barrier for the LGBTQQ communities, and it probably will be. But it still makes people uncomfortable when parents take an active role to minimize their gender-based bias their kids experience.

“We want him/her to decide, so please respect what she/he wishes.” Okay … but that’s hard to do in quick or passing situations. And, like much in life that we have been ill-prepared for, this one puts a lot of us off balance. We can’t say it’s up to the two-spiriters to take the lead because, right now, they tend to be young, very young, like my nephew young -- and the result is many people fumbling through the encounters.

If society took it upon itself to grab this bull (bulless?) by the horns -- decorative or otherwise -- the end result could become a lesson in overcoming our gender missteps in the past.

It’s my birthday and other than the obvious fact that Google seems to know that, I want to leave this observation as a gift to all. Nativisms aren’t always as savage as we like to think.