Another recent illustration I did for the gender workbook. Five cultures which have recognized non-binary gender identities for centuries.
It bothers me when people act like the idea of identifying as transgender or third gender is a new concept, or a trend which started recently in the West. Let’s be honest: the west is thousands of years late to the party, and we’re just now catching up. Hijras are mentioned in the Kama Sutra, which was written in 400 BC. Non-binary understandings of gender have existed since ancient times. Google it, y'all.
Disclaimer: you can and should learn about these cultures to broaden your understanding of gender, but you cannot claim any of these identities unless you are actually a part of that culture. For example, it would be cultural appropriation for a non-Native person to read an article about Two Spirits and decide that they identify as a Two Spirit now. This should really go without saying, but it’s happened before.
Anyway I hope you like my art :)
EDIT (6/22/2017): Wow, I didn’t expect this to blow up so much. This image has been shared 7,715 times on facebook, 3,336 times on tumblr, and who knows how many times on instagram. That’s more attention than I’ve ever gotten for one illustration.
Maybe it’s because it’s pride month? I do art related to gender and sexuality all year long, but this is the only month it’s relevant? Shaking my damn head.
But in all seriousness, I’m grateful for everyone who has shown their support for my art. I really appreciate every bit of positive feedback that I’ve gotten, and I appreciate the critique I’ve received as well. I’ve had teachers in the past tell me (whether directly or indirectly) that I won’t succeed as an artist if I focus on trans issues, because the audience is too small. It feels empowering to see my art shared so many times by other trans people and our allies. At the end of the day, I want to create art which is relevant to our community, and I’m happy that I’m finally getting the opportunity to do that.
I’d like to clarify a few things:
1. I was hired to create this illustration for a book I’m illustrating this summer. The book is “Gender Identity Workbook for Kids” by Kelly Storck, soon to be published by New Harbinger Press. The workbook is intended for trans, non binary, and gender nonconforming kids ages 5 to 12, and for gender therapists who work with that age group. The workbook will be available on Amazon and on NewHarbinger.com in the fall, if you’re interested in buying a copy.
New Harbinger has been a great publisher to work with, and their commitment to trans health is inspiring. They are releasing another book next February called “Queer and Trans Resilience Workbook,” which is similar to the book I’m illustrating, except that the intended audience is adults rather than children.
The version intended for teen audiences is already published and can be purchased on their website or on Amazon, as can their book “Mindfulness and Acceptance for Gender and Sexual Minorities.”
2.The purpose of this particular illustration is to show trans kids that the idea of identifying outside the gender binary is NOT a new concept. It’s important to educate kids about the longstanding global history of trans and gender variant people, so that they can better understand the complexity and fluidity of gender. I know that when I first came out, I felt extremely isolated, because I had never heard the word “trans” before and I thought I was the only person to ever feel the way I felt. If I had been educated at a young age, I could have saved myself years of unnecessary self hatred and denial.
People continue to invalidate trans identities by saying that it’s “just a trend.” This delusion exists because gender-variant people have been erased from world history, and gender-inclusive cultures have been violently and systematically silenced by Western colonizers. Countless of these cultures have been lost completely to colonialism and genocide. Nobody wants to talk about this because it makes them uncomfortable, but we MUST recognize this truth.
3. This illustration is NOT meant to be a complete history of all cultures which recognize trans and non-binary gender identities. This is meant to be a small and brief image to introduce trans children to five examples of gender-inclusive cultures, with the understanding that there are countless other gender-inclusive cultures on every continent of the world, which are not depicted. It would be impossible to include every culture in one illustration. But, if you’re interested in learning more about how cultures around the world view gender, I highly recommend this interactive world map created by PBS: http://www.pbs.org/independen…/content/two-spirits_map-html/
PBS points out that ““terms such as transgender and gay are strictly new constructs that assume three things: that there are only two sexes (male/female), as many as two sexualities (gay/straight), and only two genders (man/woman).” We need to understand this in order to form a more balanced understanding of gender and sexuality. The new terms used by the LGBTQ community are limited because they assume that gender is binary. Personally, I think we need to deconstruct the gender binary in order to understand the fluidity of gender.
4. Clarifications on specific illustrations: Bugis is an ethnic group, and Buginese culture recognizes five genders. The person depicted in my illustration is Bissu, while the other two Buginese genders which could be understood as trans (though they really have no Western equivalent) are Calalai and Calabai. Many people misinterpreted the original caption and assumed that Bugis was a gender, which is NOT TRUE! I can see how the text was ambiguous and how people got confused. I wish that I labeled it more clearly, and I feel bad if I contributed in any way to the spread of misinformation.
5. The terms “Two Spirit” and “hijra” are also debated. Two Spirit is a modern umbrella term created to encompass a broad range of spiritual, gender-variant identities which exist in Native American cultures. Many people embrace the pan-Indian term and see it as unifying, while others object to it because it simplifies and equates identities and cultures which are actually complex and different. I changed the text from “Two Spirit” to “Ihamana,” because the person depicted in this illustration, We'wha, was an important 19th century leader in Zuni culture who became famous for her Ihamana gender. Although Ihamana is now considered to be a part of the Two Spirit umbrella and We'wha is often cited as “the most famous Two Spirit,” We'wha would never have self-identified as Two Spirit. In fact, that term did not exist during her lifetime. I don’t ever want to label someone with a term that they would not use to describe themselves, so I’m thankful to the commenters who brought this issue to my attention. I also want to clarify that the Zuni word for their homeland is Shiwinnaqin. “New Mexico” is a name which was imposed later by colonists.
6. There’s a similar issue with the term “hijra,” because some people identify with the word, while others don’t. The hijra community faces HARSH discrimination in India, so the term has a negative connotation to many people, and it’s often used as an insult (even though the word itself is just the name for a certain community.) Recently, many trans activists in India have made an effort to distance themselves from the word. I want to show my respect for anyone who feels that the term is beyond reclamation, and I want to make it clear that hijra is NOT a universal term to describe Indian trans people. India is an extremely culturally diverse country, and let’s remember that it’s the second most populous country in the world, with a population over four times that of the US. It would be ignorant and ridiculous to expect all gender-variant people in India to identify with the same terms. You should always ask people how they identify before labeling them with a certain word.
But. It’s important to note that being an Indian trans person and being a part of a hijra community are not the same thing. “Transgender” and “hijra” should not be conflated. Despite the fact that many trans people in India don’t identify with the word “hijra,” leaders in hijra communities still use that word proudly. There are many hijra activists who refer to themselves with that word, and take great pride in that identity. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is one example – she’s an incredible activist who fought the Indian Supreme Court in 2014 on the issue of recognizing a gender option for trans people on legal documents, and she won. She is the author of “Me, Laxmi, Me, Hijra.”
I recommend this article to anyone who’s interested in the modern usage of the word hijra: http://www.therainbowhub.com/western-queerness-and-south-a…/
The writer points out the dangers of pushing Western words and Western understandings of gender onto other cultures. Quote: “Many Westerners have been chastising South Asian bloggers for calling ‘transgender’ South Asians hijra — a ‘slur’ — which is a fundamental misunderstanding of how hijra is a proper social category and has been since at least the period of the Kama Sutra…. On every continent and for all of recorded history, cultures have recognized, revered, and integrated more than two genders. Do people in South Asia call themselves trans? Most probably. However, the South Asian History of Gender and Politics have their own framework and should not be pigeonholed into Western Queerness. Pushing South Asians to call their people trans when there are already terms—terms that are nuanced and have a subtlety of meaning often lacking in Western constructs—is violent erasure of a gender identity that doesn’t neatly fit into what 'trans’ means in the Western world.”
With this in mind, my editor (who happens to be Indian and has more authority on this subject than I do) has decided to keep the word “hijra” in the illustration. Enough people in contemporary India take pride in their hijra identity and want to reclaim the term as a positive identification that we do not feel our use of the term to be a problem.
6. As one can imagine, I’ve gotten a lot of hate from trolls who say “there are only two genders” or “trans people aren’t real” or something along those lines. I don’t believe in retaliating to hatred with more hatred, so I’m not going to say anything negative in response to trolls, or entertain the pointless arguments that they’re trying to provoke. I believe in responding to hatred with love and positivity. You can keep hating. That’s fine. I’m going to keep creating art which expresses nothing but love for trans and gender variant people, because that’s what I’m here to do.
7. Finally…. I’ve decided to do another version of this illustration in response to all the feedback I’ve gotten! This illustration is intended for children. I’d like to make another version intended for adults. This new illustration will be more informative and less generalized, and will focus on the accomplishments of specific activists and leaders, such as Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, We'wha, and Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu. I think it’s necessary to create generalized images in order to educate young children, but I want to make another version of this image which is better suited to educate adults. Follow me if you want to see it when it’s done.
