Sabine Lang Understanding Homosexuality in

¶ … Sabine Lang Understanding homosexuality in its various manifestations and incarnations is a critical and important study. This type of study assists in bridging the gap between gender and sexual orientation. The construction a view of homosexuality from an alternate cultural perspective provides illumination on new dimensions of the issue. A traditional Native American society therefore becomes a crucible for the reinterpretation of homosexual behavior and a unique opportunity to understand the phenomenon from an alternate perspective.

In, "Lesbians, men-women and two spirits: homosexuality and gender in Native American cultures," Sabine Lang argues that the modern self-identity of two spirited persons is a function of the intersection of a multiplicity of variables producing a unique perspective, that is different from white homosexuality in its construction and meaning. In support of the argument the author demonstrates, that in Native American culture there was the existence of a third and fourth gender. These alternate genders were socially constructed and acceptable to the societies.

The modern construction of homosexuality, based on sexual behavior, is inadequate to capture the sexual variation in these cultures. The author argues that colonial entities reshaped this traditional identity by describing the behavior as homosexual. This resulted in the demise of the gender forms though the sexual behavior continued. Modern Native American lesbians and homosexuals, have difficulty identifying with the homosexual movement as the intersection of gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation make them unattractive to mainstream groups.

They have however maintained their connection to the past by connecting with the spiritual dimension of men-women or women-men and framing a new identity. The argument posited by the author is lucid and draws the reader into the debate. The article was well researched, and the descriptions of the variant forms of gender arrangements clear. The suggestion that these cultures developed a role of alternate genders demonstrates a weakness of modern society. The connection of the modern two spirited persons to the past identities could have been clearer.

I view this position as a revisionist position rather than a deliberate and purposeful connection to ancestral postures. In modern western society, the influence religion has shaped the understanding of sexual orientation and same sex behavior. The author shows how religion aided in undermining and eventually destroying centuries of tradition and harmony. The role of religion in the modern debate over homosexuality needs revisiting. Spirituality supersedes religion, and it is possible for persons of all sexual orientations to find and connect to a spiritual base.

Religion is required to facilitate this spiritual connection rather than prohibit it. The fluidity of some of the lesbian individuals in the article was a unique and important portrayal. It suggests that lesbians can still legitimately.