Gender variance in spirituality: Difference between revisions
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===== The six genders in classical Judaism ===== | ===== The six genders in classical Judaism ===== | ||
[[File:Tumtum Pride-Flag.png|thumb|A Tumtum pride flag designed by Tumblr user tumtum_and_androgynos in 2018 CE. White and blue symbolize Judaism, and gray for genderlessness.]] | [[File:Tumtum Pride-Flag.png|thumb|A Tumtum pride flag designed by Tumblr user tumtum_and_androgynos in 2018 CE. White and blue symbolize Judaism, and gray for genderlessness.]] | ||
Classical Judaism recognizes six categories of sex/gender, instead of the [[gender binary|male/female gender binary]] from modern Western culture. Jewish law (called ''halacha'') recognises gender ambiguity, and has done so throughout Jewish history.<ref>"More than Just Male and Female: The Six Genders in Ancient Jewish Thought." Freidson, Sarah. Sefaria, 10 June 2016. [https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/37225]</ref> This ambiguity is defined according to physical presentation (or lack thereof) and primary and secondary sexual characteristics. Then Jewish law assigns six gender roles to these six sexes, each with distinct prohibitions and required duties. According to Rabbi Elliot Kukla, these six are:<ref>Robbie Medwed. "More Than Just Male and Female: The Six Genders in Classical Judaism." ''Sojourn'' (blog). June 01, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150714011440/http://www.sojourngsd.org/blog/sixgenders</ref> | |||
The above six categories of gender are important to consider whenever considering gender in classical Jewish texts, rather than misinterpreting them in terms of the modern Western gender binary. | * Zachar (זָכָר): This term is derived from the word for a pointy sword and refers to a phallus. It is usually translated as “[[man|male]]” in English. | ||
* Nekeivah (נְקֵבָה): This term is derived from the word for a crevice and probably refers to a vaginal opening. It is usually translated as “[[woman|female]]” in English. | |||
* [[Androgynos]] (אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס): A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics. In English, translated as [[androgyne]] or [[intersex]]. 149 references in Mishna and Talmud (1st-8th Centuries CE); 350 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes (2nd -16th Centuries CE). | |||
* [[Tumtum]] (טֻומְטוּם "hidden"): A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured. 181 references in Mishna and Talmud; 335 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. In Yevamot 64a, the Talmud says that the Biblical figures Abraham and Sarah were said to have been born tumtum and infertile, and then miraculously turned into a fertile husband and wife in their old age. The classical description of the physical characteristic of tumtum as skin hiding normal female or male genitals does not exactly match any [[intersex]] condition known today. Modern scholars see it as corresponding with some known intersex conditions with [[ambiguous genitalia]].<ref>"Arachin 4b ~ The Tumtum, the Androgyne, and the Fluidity of Gender." ''Talmudology.'' June 20, 2019. https://www.talmudology.com/jeremybrownmdgmailcom/2019/6/17/arachin-4b-the-tumtum-the-androgyne-and-the-invention-of-gender?rq=tumtum</ref> In the 2019 Worldwide Gender Census, 5 of the 11,242 respondents called themselves tumtum.<ref name="2019 Gender Census">"Gender Census 2019 - The Worldwide tl;dr." ''Gender Census'' (blog). March 31, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2020. https://gendercensus.com/post/183843963445/gender-census-2019-the-worldwide-tldr Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20200118084451/https://gendercensus.com/post/183843963445/gender-census-2019-the-worldwide-tldr</ref> | |||
* Ay’lonit (איילונית): A person who is identified as “female” at birth, but fails to develop sexual characteristics at puberty or develops “male” characteristics, and is infertile. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud; 40 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. Modern scholars think ay'lonit refers to a selection of intersex conditions, such as [[Turner's syndrome]].<ref>"Ketuvot 36 ~ The Aylonit Syndrome and Turner's Syndrome." ''Talmudology.'' March 10, 2015. https://www.talmudology.com/jeremybrownmdgmailcom/2015/3/9/ketuvot-36-the-aylonit</ref> In the 2019 Worldwide Gender Census, 2 of the respondents called themselves ay’lonit.<ref name="2019 Gender Census" /> | |||
* Saris (סריס): A person who is identified as “male” at birth but develops “female” characteristics as puberty and/or is lacking a penis. A saris can be “naturally” a saris (saris hamah), or become one through human intervention (saris adam), such as a [[eunuch]]. 156 references in mishna and Talmud; 379 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. | |||
The above six categories of gender are important to consider whenever considering gender in classical Jewish texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, rather than misinterpreting them in terms of the modern Western gender binary. | |||
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==== Gender variant figures in Judaism ==== | ==== Gender variant figures in Judaism ==== | ||
===== God as a gender variant figure in Judaism ===== | ===== God as a gender variant figure in Judaism ===== | ||
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Unitarian Universalism, a liberal religion with roots in liberal Christianity, became the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy (in 1979),<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml |title=Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ History & Facts |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association |accessdate= 2014-05-02|date=2013-05-16 }}</ref> and the first to open an Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns (in 1973).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.uua.org/directory/staff/multiculturalgrowth/lesbiangay/ |title= Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Ministries |publisher= Unitarian Universalist Association |accessdate= 2014-05-02|date= 2012-10-09 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_uua.htm|title= The Unitarian Universalist Association and Homosexuality |publisher= Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance}}</ref> In 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association.<ref name=uua.org>{{cite web|title= Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ History & Facts|url= http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml|work= Unitarian Universalist Association|publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association|accessdate=2 April 2013|date=21 August 2012}}</ref> In 2002 Rev. Sean Dennison became the first openly transgender person in the Unitarian Universalist ministry called to serve a congregation; he was called to South Valley UU Society, Salt Lake City, UT.<ref name="uua.org"/> Also in 2017, the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly voted to create inclusive wordings for non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid, agender, intersex, two-spirit and polygender people, replacing the words "men and women" with the word "people." Of the six sources of the living tradition, the second source of faith, as documented in the bylaws of the denomination, now includes "Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love".<ref>{{cite web|author=Zr. Alex Kapitan Activist, Organizer & Educator |url=https://www.believeoutloud.com/latest/unitarian-universalist-general-assembly-votes-change-uu-bylaws-include-non-binary-people#comment-7295 |title=Unitarian Universalist General Assembly Votes To Change UU Bylaws To Include Non-Binary People |publisher=Believe Out Loud |date=2017-06-30 |accessdate=2017-07-08}}</ref> | Unitarian Universalism, a liberal religion with roots in liberal Christianity, became the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy (in 1979),<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml |title=Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ History & Facts |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association |accessdate= 2014-05-02|date=2013-05-16 }}</ref> and the first to open an Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns (in 1973).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.uua.org/directory/staff/multiculturalgrowth/lesbiangay/ |title= Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Ministries |publisher= Unitarian Universalist Association |accessdate= 2014-05-02|date= 2012-10-09 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_uua.htm|title= The Unitarian Universalist Association and Homosexuality |publisher= Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance}}</ref> In 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association.<ref name=uua.org>{{cite web|title= Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ History & Facts|url= http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml|work= Unitarian Universalist Association|publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association|accessdate=2 April 2013|date=21 August 2012}}</ref> In 2002 Rev. Sean Dennison became the first openly transgender person in the Unitarian Universalist ministry called to serve a congregation; he was called to South Valley UU Society, Salt Lake City, UT.<ref name="uua.org"/> Also in 2017, the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly voted to create inclusive wordings for non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid, agender, intersex, two-spirit and polygender people, replacing the words "men and women" with the word "people." Of the six sources of the living tradition, the second source of faith, as documented in the bylaws of the denomination, now includes "Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love".<ref>{{cite web|author=Zr. Alex Kapitan Activist, Organizer & Educator |url=https://www.believeoutloud.com/latest/unitarian-universalist-general-assembly-votes-change-uu-bylaws-include-non-binary-people#comment-7295 |title=Unitarian Universalist General Assembly Votes To Change UU Bylaws To Include Non-Binary People |publisher=Believe Out Loud |date=2017-06-30 |accessdate=2017-07-08}}</ref> | ||
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) states "we not only open our doors to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, we value diversity of sexuality and gender and see it as a spiritual gift". The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS), the pagan-aligned affiliate of the UUA, echoes those beliefs with bylaws that state covenant membership "shall be open, without regard to race, color, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, gender expression, physical disability, national origin, or social condition."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uua.org/lgbtq|title=LGBTQ Justice|date=2014-08-08|website=Unitarian Universalist Association|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201023003/https://www.uua.org/lgbtq|archive-date=1 February 2020|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cuups.org/CUUPS-Bylaws|title=Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans - CUUPS Bylaws|website=Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210220201/https://www.cuups.org/CUUPS-Bylaws|archive-date=10 December 2019|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref> | |||
==== Gender variant figures in Unitarian Universalism ==== | ==== Gender variant figures in Unitarian Universalism ==== | ||
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Gender-variant deities and figures in ancient Egyptian religion: | Gender-variant deities and figures in ancient Egyptian religion: | ||
* '''Hapi''', god of the Nile River, often depicted as a man with breasts and a fake beard. | * '''Hapi''', god of the Nile River, often depicted as a man with a round belly, breasts, and a fake beard. This is often seen as related to his fertility aspects. <ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hapi]</ref><ref name="kemet tenu">Tenu (Emky). "PBP Fridays: G is for Genderqueer and GLBTQ Netjeru." March 30, 2012. https://unorthodoxcreativity.com/emky/pbp/genderqueer-and-glbtq-netjeru/</ref> | ||
* '''Shai(male)/Shait(female)''', who was sometimes portrayed both as male and female. Being the personification of fate, gender was not a concern, and is variable depending on the place and time. | * '''Shai(male)/Shait(female)''', who was sometimes portrayed both as male and female. Being the personification of fate, gender was not a concern, and is variable depending on the place and time. | ||
* '''Nebt-het (Nephthys)'''. "In ancient texts, Nebt-het has been described as being 'an imitation woman with no vagina' because of Her barrenness and She has no children with Her husband, Set, Lord of the Red Desert, which is a striking difference from most Kemetic triads of mother-father-child. [...] She is ''sekhyt'' [''sekhet''], a Kemetic word often translated as 'eunuch' but more accurately indicates any person who doesn’t fit within the traditional gender roles of male or female, any person who is infertile, and/or a sexless/unsexed person."<ref name="kemet tenu" /> | |||
* '''Nit''', a world-creating goddess, who has been called by "the epithet 'The Mother and Father of All Things' and has been addressed as 'Male Who made female; Female Who made male' at the temples of Esna. [...] Nit is said to have created childbirth, and, when referred to as a creatrix, Her name is written with the hieroglyph of an ejaculating phallus."<ref name="kemet tenu" /> | |||
* '''Set''', god of chaos. The mythology describes him having sex with men and women, and specifically mentions him ejaculating, but also calls him a ''sekhet''.<ref name="kemet tenu" /> This suggests that ''sekhet'' does not necessarily mean someone who was castrated. | |||
* '''Tatenen''', [[androgynous]] mother or father of the earth. He is a creator deity, being seen as creating the land itself. Because of his status as a creator, he is seen as androgynous. <ref> [https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143914/www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/religion/tatenen.htm] </ref> | * '''Tatenen''', [[androgynous]] mother or father of the earth. He is a creator deity, being seen as creating the land itself. Because of his status as a creator, he is seen as androgynous. <ref> [https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143914/www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/religion/tatenen.htm] </ref> | ||
* '''Wadj-wer''', sometimes depicted as a pregnant man. He relates to water, the Mediterranean, and fertility, the later aspect likely the reason for the pregnancy. <ref> [https://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/wadjwer.htm] </ref> | * '''Wadj-wer''', sometimes depicted as a pregnant man. He relates to water, the Mediterranean, and fertility, the later aspect likely the reason for the pregnancy.<ref> [https://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/wadjwer.htm] </ref> | ||
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==== Views about gender variance in Buddhism ==== | ==== Views about gender variance in Buddhism ==== | ||
Thai Buddhism recognizes a category of gender variance called [[kathoey]], which includes feminine people who were assigned male at birth. Many people in Thailand think of kathoey as a separate category than woman or man, and even separate from [[transgender women]]. In Thai Buddhism, being kathoey is seen as being part of one's karma, if it should be the case for a person. The response is one of "pity" rather than "blame". Kathoey are generally seen as not likely to form lasting relationships with men, and the lay explanation of their karma is that they are working out debts from adulterous behavior in past lives. In the past they disrupted marriages, and now they are doomed to never marry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenscene.com/ironladies/reviews/questions.html|title=14 Questions |first=Andrew |last=Matzner |year=2000 |work=Golden Scene}}</ref> | |||
==== Gender variant figures in Buddhism ==== | ==== Gender variant figures in Buddhism ==== | ||
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=== | ===Shintoism=== | ||
Shinto kami associated with | ==== Gender variant figures in Shintoism ==== | ||
Shinto kami associated with gender variance include: shirabyōshi, female or transgender kami represented as half-human, half-snake. They are linked to Shinto priests of the same name, who are usually female (or occasionally transgender) and perform ceremonial dances in traditional men's clothing;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Conner |first1=Randy P. |last2=Sparks |first2=David Hatfield |last3=Sparks |first3=Mariya |year=1998 |title=Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit |isbn=978-0-304-70423-1 |page=305 |chapter=Shirabyoshi}}</ref> Ōyamakui no kami, a transgender Yama-no-Kami mountain spirit that protects industry and childbearing (notably enshrined in Hie Shrine);<ref>Conner & Sparks (1998), p. 259, "Oyamakui"</ref> and Inari Ōkami, the kami of agriculture and rice, who is depicted as various genders, the most common representations being a young female food goddess, an old man carrying rice, and an androgynous bodhisattva.<ref name=smyers8>{{cite book|last=Smyers|first=Karen Ann|title=The fox and the jewel : shared and private meanings in contemporary Japanese inari worship|year=1999|publisher=Univ. of Hawaií Press|location=Honolulu|isbn=9780824820589|page=8}}</ref> Inari is further associated with foxes and shapeshifting fox trickster spirits. Kitsune sometimes disguise themselves as women, independent of their true gender, in order to trick human men into sexual relations with them.<ref>Conner & Sparks (1998), p. 203, "Kitsune"</ref> Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a fox.<ref name="Tyler xlix">Tyler (1987), xlix.{{Full citation needed|date=May 2014}}</ref> | |||
===Levant spiritualities=== | ===Levant spiritualities=== | ||
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==== Views about gender variance in Wicca ==== | ==== Views about gender variance in Wicca ==== | ||
''See also: [[Wikipedia:Modern Pagan views on LGBT people]]'' | |||
Transgender people are generally magickal people, according to Karla McLaren in her ''Energetic Boundaries'' study guide. Transgender people are almost always welcomed in individual communities, covens, study groups, and circles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/gay-wicca.html |title=The Scoop on Gay Wicca |work=Wicca Spirituality: A New Wicca for a New World}}</ref> Many transgender people were initially attracted to [[Modern Paganism]] because of this inclusion. However, there are some Neopagan groups that do not welcome transgender people. In some cases, this is because of the emphasis on the union of male and female, and the exclusion of transgender individuals from such practices.<ref name="EncWitch"/> Also, some gender separatist groups exclude transgender people, often on the basis that non-transgender individuals share certain spiritual qualities derived from genetic or biological sex.<ref name="EncWitch">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism|first=Shelley|last=Rabinovitch|author2=James Lewis|publisher=Citadel Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0806524061 | Transgender people are generally magickal people, according to Karla McLaren in her ''Energetic Boundaries'' study guide. Transgender people are almost always welcomed in individual communities, covens, study groups, and circles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/gay-wicca.html |title=The Scoop on Gay Wicca |work=Wicca Spirituality: A New Wicca for a New World}}</ref> Many transgender people were initially attracted to [[Modern Paganism]] because of this inclusion. However, there are some Neopagan groups that do not welcome transgender people. In some cases, this is because of the emphasis on the union of male and female, and the exclusion of transgender individuals from such practices.<ref name="EncWitch"/> Also, some gender separatist groups exclude transgender people, often on the basis that non-transgender individuals share certain spiritual qualities derived from genetic or biological sex.<ref name="EncWitch">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism|first=Shelley|last=Rabinovitch|author2=James Lewis|publisher=Citadel Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0806524061 | ||
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===Other European and Neo-Pagan spiritual traditions=== | ===Other European and Neo-Pagan spiritual traditions=== | ||
''See also: [[Wikipedia:Modern Pagan views on LGBT people]]'' | |||
==== Feri ==== | ==== Feri ==== | ||