Two-Spirit

Two-spirit is a contemporary, umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people taking up a third-gender social role in their communities. Coined in 1990 as a ceremonial term promoting community, more gender-nonconforming people are self-identifying as two-spirit. The term was intended to replace pejorative anthropological terms still in wide use, such as berdache. Canada officially uses 2SLGBTQ+ as an alternative to LGBTQ+. It’s believed a two-spirit identity doesn’t apply outside of a Native American or First Nation cultures — its use by non-Natives is seen as cultural appropriation.