It was not unusual for Shed to have this mix between his feminine and masculine sides. That is not negative or wrong. For example, in the article "How we find ourselves," Wilson (1996, p.303) relates that today this concept of shaman or two-spirit sided individual has been continued in the indigenous culture. "Many lesbian, gay, and bisexual Indigenous Americans use the term "two-spirit" to describe themselves...This term is drawn from a traditional worldview that affirms the inseparability of the experience of their sexuality from the experience of their culture and community." The interrelationship of sexual identity and ethnicity lends itself to the complexity of the process of developing one's identity. This growing acceptance of the use of the word two-spirit as a self-descriptor among lesbian, gay, and bisexual indigenous Americans stipulates a sexuality deeply rooted in one's own culture. Two-spirit identity supports the interconnection of all factors of identity, such as sexuality, gender, culture, community, and spirituality. "That is, the sexuality of two-spirit people cannot be considered as separate from the rest of an individual's identity" it was the same for Shed: His sexuality could not be separated from who he was as a person. It was a part of him.
However, this two-spirit concept was juxtaposed to the white-man or Mormon's belief that homosexuality was wrong. That people can and should make a differentiation between who they are as a person and what they are sexually and spiritually. Thus, by confronting the Native American ways and the sexuality of the women at the brothel, the settlers were not only breaking the sexual aspect of these people but their identity. They were stripping the non-Mormon believers of who they were as people. Spanbauer (1991) was focusing on the inhumane treatment of all Native...
As the author has said, "Beneath our skin, our sexuality, our gender and how it does or doesn't fit, and our journey to make it fit, we're all bewildered human beings. We're all confused, none of us has any answers; anybody who says they have an answer is lying."
Spanbauer's (1991) book has been called one of the most important of the literature for gays and bisexuals and it has had a major impact on its readers, both straight and gay. This age is much more receptive to seeing other forms of sexuality than heterosexuality as a norm. This is seen by the states that are assessing the validity and passing same-sex marriages and by the emphasis of youths who are much more open to cross-sexual encounters. It is expected, therefore, that the coming decades will also see more authors such as Spanbauer writing about this population who, until now, have been mostly left out of modern Western literature.
References
Haines, C.R. (1919) the Correspondence of Marcus Cornelius Fronto,. New York G.P. Putnam
Mabillard, a. FAQ: Shakespeare's Life." Shakespeare Online. Retrieved December 12, 2008. (date when you accessed the information) http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatres/theroyalpalaces.html
Norton, Rictor. (1998) My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters through the Centuries San Francisco: Leyland Publications,
Plato, Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer society Retrieved December 12, 2008 http://www.glbtq.com/literature/plato.html
Spanbauer, T. (1991) the Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon. New York: Morgan
Wilson, a. (1996) How we find ourselves: Identity development and two-spirit people
Harvard Educational Review. 66(2) 303, 15 pages
