genderqueer News and Stories

This African Female King Defied the Gender Binary in the 17th Century

Western understandings of queer identity may dominate the current conversation around LGBTQ+ folks and our history, but a wider, global look at sexuality reveals a much richer and more interesting story. In fact, what we consider “normative” today may very well have seemed bizarre to our ancestors. One of the[…]

The Muxes of Mexico Are a ‘Third Gender’ Who Straddle the Line Between Respected and Reviled

Muxes are a ‘third-gender’ largely recognized in the Juchitán region of Oaxaca, Mexico. But though they’re extraordinary, they don’t live charmed lives

Mexico’s Zapotec People Have Long Rebuked Western Norms by Recognizing a Third Gender

It is easy to perceive our Western gender binary system as the prevalent view around the world, but the culture and history of many indigenous communities refute this way of thinking. Indigenous peoples often do not make the mistake of strictly conflating gender with sex, recognizing more than two genders[…]

The Bugis People of Indonesia Recognize Five Genders, Expanding the Traditional Western Framework

In today’s “queer history from around the world” lesson, we’re diving into the Bugis people of South Sulawesi, Indonesia — an ethnic group who believes that gender exists on a spectrum. There are roughly 3 million Bugis people in South Sulawesi, making them the largest ethnic group in the area.[…]