Theirstory: Reclaiming Gender Freedom—Past, Present, Personal, and Sacred
A global history of gender fluidity and a soul call to sacred resistance, spiritual truth, and collective liberation.
✨ May these words burn illusion, bless truth, and carry light and love to all who read them. May they awaken memory, soften fear, and ripple freedom through the heart of humanity. ✨
Whether you’re questioning or simply curious, your presence here matters. Thank you for taking the time and care to learn. Your open heart and mind are medicine in this divided time.
💔 A War Against Spirit
The federal crusade against trans Americans and the LGBTQ+ community is a war on Love. A war against Spirit. And a tried and true strategy to strip freedom from all, starting with the most marginalized.
With each installment of this administration’s soul-strangling agenda, fueled by the phobias of human diversity, my chest collapses in on itself.
But when they take the American flag, which once symbolized, to me, this country’s *aspirations* of freedom and equality, and they turn the Heaven-headed topper on our own people, to smear, trample, and spear trans folk, I feel my heart daggered, my Spirit fighting slaughter.
Because I, too, am a person…
A spirit, consciousness, life force energy, confined to a body.
Whose body is complex and one-of-a-kind, but was assigned one of two sexes at birth.
Biologically varied. Socially binaried.
Whose biologically varied, socially bi-naried sex was assigned a gender.
Which assigns my roles and rules.
Which limits my truest self.
And, thanks to a steadfast belief that the greatest way we can fulfill our individual soul missions to serve the collective is to embody our truest selves, I’m releasing the insidious implications of the gender binary illusion—not just for my own freedom, but to better serve the world from spiritual truth.
At this juncture, she / her pronouns still work for me, but they / them is more accurate.
🌱 My Journey Through Gender to Spirit
I first studied the anthropology of sex and gender in 2016, but it wasn’t until Trump’s government-mandated discrimination of gender queer people and the rippling division of the LGBTQ community that I have felt the need to outwardly identify with and advocate for a collective reclamation of gender freedom.
At first, the idea of claiming yet another marginalized identity to live as my fullest self felt like a burden of judgment and questions I was not eager to contend with. But in truth, it became a blessing—one that lit a sacred path back to my own Spirit. The freedom I’ve found in this latest chapter of rejecting external perception in favor of my spiritual truth feels holier, more uplifting from below, guided from above, and igniting within than I could have dreamt possible.
I do appreciate the energetic bricks removed from my throat, shoulders, and womb with each exchange I’ve had about my gender identity, so Spirit can freely flow, but still, the opinions of others are not my liberator.
The lightness comes from releasing the rules and roles and replacing those parameters with devotion to the only voice of Spirit I can directly commune with: my own.
And from that well of love and peace that’s deep within, no matter my sight’s vision or mind’s chatter, I dance naked in the sacred fire of freedom, knowing there’s no more personally fulfilling and collectively healing task than to live in truth, as devotion. There’s no greater offering than to embody our Divine, sovereign selves—fluid and evolving, like the tides, the plants, the animals, the Earth herself. To live a life of releasing human-made boxes and increasingly return to individual Spirit, the collective Spirit, the parts of us that remember we are each already whole, sacred, free, connected, and worthy.
📖 What on Earth am I talking about?
Level-Set on Learning
Thank you for caring. Let me break it down, starting with getting on the same page regarding a few terms that may be heard more often than they are understood.
Shame is not necessary for not knowing yet—even queer identifying people weren’t born with this vocabulary.
It is not our faults that our thoughts, beliefs, and actions are shaped by a society who has roots in both light and shadow, love and fear, unity and division, but it is our individual responsibilities to question, unlearn, relearn, and choose to perpetuate thoughts, beliefs, and actions aligned with our personal values.
Thank you for your patience and forgiveness with me, yourself, and others, for not doing better before we knew better. And thank you for your courage and responsibility to hold us all accountable along the way.
What I Hope We’ll Learn
Gender expression beyond the binary male or female is as old as time.
The social construction of a binary gender is new.
What’s a social construction?
Something that society collectively agrees on and enforces—but that isn’t rooted in unchangeable biology or universal truth…
Money, time zones, beauty standards, success, gender…
These constructions shape how we see the world, often invisibly. But once we see them, we can explore:
How they are serving us
How they are limiting us
How we would like to engage with them personally
How our dream world relates to them collectively
How we can live now in ways that honor our aspirations while contending with what is
[Butler, 1990; Fausto-Sterling, 2000]
Sexual and Gender Identity
What’s gender? Social.
Gender is a set of roles, behaviors, and identities shaped by a society’s values and power structures.
We know that gender is a social construction because the understandings of genders and their associations vary across time and culture.
For instance, pink was considered a boy’s color in America in the early 20th century. Now, it’s coded as feminine. Men in 18th-century Europe wore high heels, wigs, and makeup, which symbolized power and status, not femininity, a stark contrast to our current associations.
While the gender binary (“male” and “female”) is often treated as natural, it’s actually a Western colonial invention, not a universal truth. Across the world and throughout history, human societies have recognized multigender, no-gender, nonbinary, and transgender individuals—often revering them as spiritual leaders, healers, and visionaries.
[Lorber, 1994; Lugones, 2007; Oyewumi, 1997]
So what is sex?
Sex is biological.
It’s what you’re assigned at birth based on your reproductive anatomy.
But even sex isn’t strictly binary—many people are born intersex, with bodies that don’t fit typical male or female categories—varying in chromosomes, hormones, and genitals.
So even biological sex exists on a spectrum.
[Fausto-Sterling, 2000]
What do you mean by binary?
Binary means “just two”—in this case, the idea that there are only two genders: male and female.
The binary is not only limiting—it’s false.
Where’d this binary idea come from?
Across every continent until around 15th century colonization, gender diversity was not an exception—it was integrated, honored, and often spiritualized.
It wasn’t until Christian imperialism and Western legal-medical frameworks that binary gender roles were globally enforced and thousands of years of fluid roles were violently erased.
[Lugones, 2007; Oyewumi, 1997]
Who would impose binary gender ideals?
Those benefiting from consolidated systems of power—white supremacist, patriarchal systems that enforce “order” by criminalizing difference.
🌎 Where were folks beyond the binary before colonization? 🌍 E V E R Y W H E R E.🌏
Click “everywhere” to explore a map of the hundreds of cultures that recognize multiple genders worldwide
🧭 Global Histories of Gender Freedom
North America
When: For thousands of years before European colonization
Where: Indigenous Nations across Turtle Island (the term some Indigenous people use in North America to refer to the continent)
How: Many Indigenous cultures recognized Two-Spirit people—individuals who embody both masculine and feminine spirits or exist outside the binary. Among the Diné (Navajo), Lakota, Zuni, and others, Two-Spirit people were sacred: often healers, matchmakers, visionaries, or ceremonial leaders.
Impact of colonization: Christian missionaries and colonial governments violently suppressed these roles through forced assimilation, residential schools, and laws banning Indigenous spiritual practices.
[Gilley, 2006]
South America
When: Long before European invasion in the 16th century
Where: Incan Empire and Amazonian tribes
How: Andean cultures, including the Inca, honored gender-diverse shamans who embodied dual or nonbinary energies. Among Tukanoan peoples of the Amazon, gender roles beyond male and female were normalized within ceremonial life.
Impact of colonization: Spanish colonizers imposed Catholic morality and gender norms, criminalizing queer and trans expression.
[Stephen, 2002]
Africa
When: Pre-colonial and pre-Christian eras across regions
Where: Dagara people (Burkina Faso): Recognized “gatekeepers,” spiritually powerful individuals who live between genders. Buganda Kingdom (Uganda): Accepted effeminate men and same-sex relationships, especially in royal courts.
How: Gender diversity was often tied to spirituality, medicine, and social roles.
Impact of colonization: British and French colonial rule, along with imported Christian doctrines, suppressed or erased these traditions.
[Somé, 1994; Tamale, 2011]
Europe
When: Before Christian dominance (pre-4th century CE through early medieval periods)
Where: Norse cultures: Gods like Loki shapeshifted genders. Seiðr, a magical practice associated with femininity, was performed by all genders. Celtic and Scythian societies: Held space for gender-variant druids and shamans.
How: Fluid gender roles were spiritually encoded into mythologies and priesthoods.
Impact of Christianization: From the 4th century CE onward, Church dogma enforced binary roles and condemned gender variance as sinful.
[Larrington, 2014; MacCana, 1970]
Asia
When: Documented from 200 BCE and earlier
Where: India: The Hijra community appears in sacred Hindu texts like the Ramayana and Mahabharata and in the Kama Sutra. Japan: During the Edo period (1603–1868), wakashu (androgynous youths) were celebrated in art and society. China: Tang Dynasty (7th–10th centuries CE) Daoist texts and operas explored gender fluidity.
Impact of colonization & modernization: British rule in India, Meiji-era nationalism in Japan, and Confucian revivalism in China reinforced more rigid binary roles.
[Reddy, 2005; Leupp, 1995]
Australia
When: Over 60,000 years of continuous culture
Where: Aboriginal Australian nations
How: Communities have long recognized sistergirls (transfeminine) and brotherboys (transmasculine) as integral roles within kinship and spiritual systems.
Impact of colonization: British colonization attempted to erase these identities through violence, law, and assimilation policies, but many have persisted through oral history and cultural revival.
[AIATSIS]
Oceania & Pacific Islands
When: Long before European contact in the 18th century
Where: Samoa: Fa'afafine (individuals embodying both masculine and feminine qualities) are widely respected. Hawai‘i: Māhū were caretakers, teachers, and spiritual figures living between or beyond male/female binaries.
Impact of colonization: Missionary Christianity attempted to shame and suppress these roles, but they remain active and vital in many communities today.
[Kumu Hina, 2014]
These examples are not just history—they are blueprints of possibility, a truth ready to be remembered.
🔥Sacred Resistance
When we resist systems that box the soul, we aren’t just rebelling—we’re loving. Loving the Earth, the ancestors, the children yet to be born. Loving truth over comfort. Loving the Spirit in all its forms. We ground what is from Spirit onto Earth without intermediaries. When we anchor into the truth of our hearts and souls, we root in our authentic essence and grow a more sacred world.
🌈 What Becomes Possible Without the Binary?
✨ More freedom.
✨ More authenticity.
✨ More connection—with self, others, spirit, and Earth.
Without the binary, we return to fluidity, wholeness, and belonging.
Imagine a society where you’re not boxed in.
You don’t need to dress a certain way.
You don’t need to act a certain part.
You don’t need to follow any rule or role.
You don’t need to dominate or submit.
You just get to be you.
Varied. Complex. Fluid. True.
Everyone is free to bloom in their own shape, color, and timing. We appreciate that gender diversity is natural—and needed for a balanced world. That world is possible—it has already existed and persists in many communities today.
💞 Ways to Honor Self and Others
How Can We Personally Reclaim Gender Freedom?
Unlearn: Gently question what you were taught about gender.
Explore: Feel into your own energy—beyond labels. Where do you feel most true, most alive?
Expand: Let your expression evolve. Let it be nonlinear. Let it be you.
This is sacred self-discovery. And it’s not about performance—it’s about presence.
It is also completely okay to align with a masculine or feminine pole. It is just also okay to exist anywhere on the spectrum, and flow between feeling male, female, non-binary, gendered, non-gendered. What ever is true for you in any given moment is exactly as you are meant to be.
How Can We Honor Others?
Believe them. Trust people when they tell you who they are.
Use their name and pronouns. It’s spiritual courtesy. Normalize sharing and asking pronouns.
Uplift gender-diverse voices. Especially those from BIPOC and Indigenous communities.
Be humble. You don’t have to “get it” to honor it. Just lead with love. Every soul deserves to be seen.
The binary is a box.
The body is a vessel.
The soul is limitless.
A world of limitless vessels is possible…And we create it as we reject socially constructed, restrictive boxes.
Thank you for consciously creating in alignment with your heart and soul.
May your truth set others free.
May your presence bless the Earth with love and peace, light and power.
May your gender, however it flows, be a bridge between spirit and world.
If this piece moved you:
🌈 Share it with someone who’s questioning, learning, or unlearning.
🌀 Reflect: What social constructions, gender or otherwise, don’t ring true for you? What learnings are you ready to release? What learnings are you ready to integrate? How could you more wholly embody your truth? How could you be more free? How could you invite more freedom in others?
💌 Leave a comment about your own journey.
🌈Where can I learn more?
📚 Books by BIPOC and Indigenous Authors
Redefining Realness – Janet Mock
A powerful memoir by a Black trans woman, exploring identity, transition, and truth.Decolonizing Trans/Gender 101 – b. binaohan
A deeply insightful, accessible guide that critiques colonial understandings of gender.A Two-Spirit Journey – Ma-Nee Chacaby
A memoir by an Ojibwe–Cree elder recounting their life as a Two-Spirit person navigating colonial systems and spiritual remembering.Zami: A New Spelling of My Name – Audre Lorde
A biomythography by the Black lesbian feminist legend, blurring lines of memoir, myth, and history.The Coloniality of Gender – María Lugones
A foundational text that examines how gender binaries were imposed through colonization.Gender Euphoria – Edited by Laura Kate Dale (includes BIPOC voices)
A celebratory collection of personal essays on the joy of gender expression and embodiment.
🎙️ Podcasts & Oral Histories
All My Relations – Hosted by Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation) & Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip)
Conversations on Indigenous identity, culture, and connection—episode: “The Sacred Role of Two-Spirit People.”Gender Reveal – Hosted by Tuck Woodstock (trans journalist)
Features BIPOC, trans, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit guests exploring identity and liberation.Native America Calling – Ongoing radio/podcast series with episodes on Two-Spirit history and queer Indigenous futures.
📺 Documentaries by and about BIPOC & Indigenous Communities
Kumu Hina
The story of a Native Hawaiian māhū teacher and cultural leader—deeply rooted in Indigenous understanding of gender.Two Spirits (PBS)
Examines the life and legacy of Fred Martinez, a Navajo nádleehi youth, and the sacred role of Two-Spirit people in Indigenous communities.A Place in the Middle
A short companion film to Kumu Hina, made for younger audiences and classrooms.Major!
A documentary about Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a Black trans elder and activist who has been leading for decades.Disclosure (Netflix)
A documentary on trans representation in media, featuring many trans BIPOC voices.
🌐 Web Resources
Global Indigenous Council – Gender Diversity & Colonialism
The Trevor Project – Gender Identity Guide
Planned Parenthood – Gender Identity 101
Native Youth Sexual Health Network
🗣️ I’d love to hear from you—what part of this piece resonated most? Have you encountered gender diversity in history, culture, or your own lineage that surprised or inspired you?