Examining Gender Roles In The Film 'Two Spirit'

As a child, I never put much thought in gender and sex. I thought there were simply two genders and that gender was biological. I’ve always been aware of the social norms surrounding men and women and recognized that some women have more masculine tendencies and some men more feminine tendencies. I was never concerned by homosexuality, as one of my parent’s friends is lesbian. In fact, I was often confused by the way other kids would use gay negatively and why homosexuality made some people uncomfortable. In addition, I quickly became aware of the male-dominated culture in the US. Some of these thoughts were challenged as I grew older. I learned that society is normalizing the idea of multiple genders. In class I became aware that some cultures are even built upon having many genders, such as the Navajo. The film “Two Spirit” describes the Navajo as viewing gender and sex as spiritual and sacred. It also explains that in Navajo culture, there are considered to be 4 genders: feminine woman, masculine man, feminine man, and masculine woman. Lassiter also touched on this idea with an example from tribes in New Guinea that had feminine and masculine qualities different from those in American culture.

Lassiter points out that many people understand gender as being natural and inherent, when in reality this isn’t the case. This means that gender roles are created and defined by culture, and the people who don’t fit these predetermined roles are often ostracized. I also learned that the term biological encompasses more than I had originally thought. I’d understood biological sex as dealing with genitalia. Additionally, it is related to one’s chromosomes and hormones. As a result, when referring to biological sex, I find it important to clarify what aspect is being