Canadian Anthropology Society

Neither Man nor Woman: Berdache — A Case for Non-Dichotomous Gender Construction
Author(s): Brian Schnarch
Source: Anthropologica, Vol. 34, No. 1 (1992), pp. 105-121
Published by: Canadian Anthropology Society
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 NEITHER MAN NOR WOMAN:
BERDACHE- A CASE FOR
NON-DICHOTOMOUS GENDER
CONSTRUCTION1

Brian Schnarch
McGill University

Abstract: How many genders are there? The notion that gender is
inevitably dichotomous is strongly challenged by the historical and
contemporary existence of the berdache status in many North Ameri
can societies. A preliminary conceptual framework for the analysis of
sex/gender systems is proposed. The berdache status as understood in
the English-language ethnographic literature is summarized. The tra
ditional characterization of the status (e.g., institutionalized homosex
uality or transvestite) are criticized and alternative categorizations
of?"male" and "female" ?berdaches, as third and fourth genders,
are presented. Considered in this light, gender as a dichotomous clas
sification system is seen to be a cultural construct. The implications of
this conclusion for feminist theorizing are explored.

Resume: Combien existe-t-il de genres? Cette notion de genre

inevitablement dichotomique est remise en question par l'existence a
la fois historique et contemporaire du statut berdache au sein de nom
breuses societes nord-americaines. L'article propose un cadre concep
tuel preliminaire pour l'analyse des systemes sexe/genre.
On y resume d'abord ce qu'est le statut berdache dans la litterature
ethmographique de langue anglaise.
Les representations traditionelles du statut (telles l'homosexualite
institutionelle ou les travestis) sont critiquees; par contre, on propose
des categorisations alternatives de berdache ?male? et ?femelle?
comme troisieme et quatrieme genres.
A la lumiere de cette argumentation, le genre comme systeme de
classification dichotomique apparait comme etant-une construction
culturelle.
Les implications d'une telle conclusion sont examinees dans l'op
tique de theories feministes.

Anthropologica XXXIV (1992) 105-121

105
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 106 Anthropologica XXXIV (1992)

Introduction
How many genders are there? To a modern
Anglo-American, nothing might seem more
definite than the answer that there are two:
men and women. But not all societies
around the world agree with Western cul
ture's view that all humans are men or
women.
- Williams 1986:1

The existence of the North American Indian berdache status(es), I wi

gue, represents one such exception.2 After outlining a framework fo
consideration of sex/gender systems, I will describe the berdache stat
understood in the English-language ethnographic literature. Next, I
look at the traditional characterizations of this status and explain why t
are inappropriate. I will then propose that ("female" and "male")
daches be viewed as gender statuses distinct from men or women. Finally
will suggest some implications of this for sex/gender studies and fem
theorizing.
The existence of two sexes and of two genders is largely taken f
granted as "irreducible facts" within our Euro-Western cultural trad
(Kessler and McKenna 1978:vii). Like our other basic and often relate
chotomies, this pair of dichotomies is pervasive. In our mythology (
Adam and Eve) and in our everyday social interactions, from the first qu
tion we ask about a newborn to the ways in which we conceptualize the
verse, a (gender) dichotomizing framework is discernible.3
Most feminist research on sex/gender issues takes the basic gender
chotomy for granted. Some call for a blurring of dichotomous views of
and women by adopting a synthetic view of secondary dichotomies
Hein 1984, Ortner 1974); some argue for revalorization of women and tho
things that are associated with them (an example can be found in
1984), some argue for more integrated, interactional relationships betwe
individuals and groups (both inter- and intra-gender) based on "femi
traits of "caring" (e.g., Whitbeck 1984).
A careful consideration of the preponderance of feminist and sex/gend
research reveals that it is not really about the construction of sex/ge
systems but about the construction of the Euro-Western and dichotomiz
sex/gender system. While interesting and even politically fruitful (to so
feminist agendas), the feminist bipolar and ethnocentric perspective
forced to construct their (sometimes Utopian) horizons out of a criticism
the limits of our patriarchal system. By overlooking the sex/gender sys
of other societies (both historical and contemporary) researchers alm

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Schnarch / Neither Man nor Woman: Berdache 107

inevitably fall into the trap of perceiving and conceptualizing the world with
just two types of human beings.
Pre-feminist and non-feminist conceptions of the world had one basic
type of "human" (i.e., man) and a secondary deficient (see Donchin 1984
for discussion) "not fully human" (see Frye 1975 for discussion) inferior
"female man" or "other" (de Beauvoir 1940). Feminists, by contrast, have
tended to conceptualize two types of full humans living in this world.
I intend, by the use of ethnographic example, to indicate the possibility
and the reality of a world with more than two types, in the hope that this
will serve to get beyond the dichotomizing conceptions of sex and gender
within (universalizing) Euro-Western thought. To that end, I shall begin by
making some necessary analytical distinctions. I will then endeavour to
show that not only are our understandings of "man" and "woman" cul
tural constructs,4 but to show that the number of genders itself is a cultural
construct.

Analytical Distinctions
The following analytical distinctions form the basis of my subsequent
analysis and very significantly inform and direct the perspective presented.
It might be useful to understand my perspective as one which views sex,
gender, the number of sexes and the number of genders as constructed.
These definitions vary considerably from those in some of my source mate
rial, leading to necessarily different conceptualizations and conclusions.
Folk Classification: The concept of folk classification is central to my
analysis. The use of the folk classification concept is an attempt to avoid im
posing or applying "external" (ethnocentric or anthropologists') cultural
categories when talking about some aspect of the social reality of a given
social group. This social group may use different categories to talk about
the same phenomenon, and it is precisely these categories, their taxonomic
structures and other organizing models, that are referred to as folk classifi
cation. "The growing evidence indicates that environmentally uniform
physical elements are classified differently by societies" (Martin and
Voorhies 1975:87). One popular and often cited example of the variability
in folk classification systems are the many Inuit distinctions for different
types of snow.5 That skiers (or Montreal pedestrians for that matter) have
significantly large repertoires of similar distinctions is an equally valid ex
ample of a folk classification model.
Recent criticism of (and retreat from) extreme relativism in folk classifi
cation studies notwithstanding,6 the notion remains both productive and in
sightful. The "folk" (i.e., social group) can be defined as any community

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 108 Anthropologica XXXIV (1992)

with a high degree of overlap in cultural category designations.7 Significantly,

the "folk" may be sociobiologists, anthropologists or feminist writers8
Sex: From an essentialist perspective, sex is viewed as the determinant of
the biological, social and psychological make-up of a male or female. From
a more recent feminist perspective, sex is distinguished from gender as the
biological dimension in defining and constructing what it is to be male or
female. In both versions, sex consists of what one is born with. But, at this
point, distinguishing that which is biological from that which is not remains
contentious and therefore sex should be understood as a folk classification
system which divides humanity into two or more categories (e.g., male and
female) on the basis of both biological and cultural criteria in the belief that
the criteria being used are biologically determined or "natural."
Gender: By contrast, gender has typically been used to refer to the
psychological, social and cultural elements in the constructions of males
and females (Stoller 1968). Herein gender classifications will be viewed as
folk classifications dividing humanity into two or more types based on what
are believed to be non-''natural," i.e., cultural elements. One might note
that at this point androgyny exists only in theory and fiction.
Sex/Gender System:9 This is the folk classification of both gender and sex
categories. The system varies in its construction from culture to culture but
invariably (i.e., cross-culturally) contains a minimum of two sexes and two
genders.
Gender Attribution and Sex Attribution: According to Kessler and
McKenna (1978), gender attribution, or "assigning" a gender, is the act of
deciding whether someone is a man or a woman. In keeping with the pre
ceding definitions, I must expand the definition to include other genders that
are neither men nor women (as defined by folk classifications). Gender attri
bution is made on the basis of numerous and redundant morphological (e.g.,
breasts and beards) and cultural (e.g., hairstyle, clothing, posture) elements.
In this way Western gender assignments tend to coincide with Western sex
assignments. As such is not necessarily the case in all societies, sex and
gender attribution are analytically distinguished. Following Kessler and
McKenna, gender attribution precedes and defines gender role and gender
identity, although there is dynamic interplay between the three. It should be
clear from this, that neither a person's sex nor gender are simply innate.
Gender Role and Gender Identity/Sex Role and Sex Identity: One's
gender role is the sum of all behaviours that a person engages in to indicate
to others or to the self that one is a man, a woman or some other gender.
Gender role is the outward (public) manifestation of one's gender identity,
and gender identity is the personal experience of one's gender role (Kessler
and McKenna 1978). The concepts of sex role and sex identity should be
distinguished here from gender role and gender identity as sex and gender

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Schnarch / Neither Man nor Woman: Berdache 109

do not necessarily have a one-to-one relationship. The study of gender (and

sex) identity is primarily the focus of psychologists. My focus here is socio
cultural and is thus more closely related to gender (and sex) roles and
gender (and sex) attribution.
Female/Male?Woman/Man: The terms female and male are used to des
ignate two most common varieties of sex assignments. The terms man and
woman represent the two most common gender assignments. All are folk
classifications and are not necessarily universal or paired.
Intersex: This is a person with genitalia that are neither typically male nor
female. The term itself implies a "middle" position which should not be as
sumed. The folk classifications hermaphrodite and Nadle (Hill 1935) fall
into this category.
Transsexual: A person is a transsexual when the individual's gender iden
tity and gender assignment conflict. The term only has meaning because we
make gender attributions for everyone.
Transvestite: A transvestite is a person whose gender assignment and
gender identity are in correspondence with each other but are both in con
trast to the gender association of the clothes that this person wears. This cat
egory is highly contextual and, therefore, relatively ambiguous and difficult
to apply.
Heterosexuality, Homosexuality and Bisexuality: These categories relate
to one's (choice of)10 sexual partners. The choice lies, respectively, be
tween different gender partners, same gender partners and "either" gender
partners. These terms traditionally imply two genders, as well as one-on
one sexuality.
The term bisexual most explicitly implies two dichotomous gender
categories and is, therefore, culture-specific. An appropriate alternative
term, which would incorporate the possible variations, would be "multisex
ual." Sexuality, it should be noted, is an element of variable importance in
different sex/gender systems. Gender attribution of each partner must logi
cally precede the labels of sexual practices (or preferences).
The critical or sensitive reader might think that the preceding presentation
of "analytical distinctions" sounds itself very much like a folk classifica
tion model. Inasmuch as the notions are shared by some, it is. The frame
work outlined is intended to facilitate comparisons of different sex/gender
systems and is itself subject to revision as "evidence" and "anomalies"
dictate. The berdache will now be considered in the context of the preceding
framework.

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 110 Anthropologica XXXIV (1992)

The Berdache Status

The berdache has been characterized in many different ways by different
authors. This multiplex depiction is doubtless a reflection, in part, of the
great variation that characterizes the role. I will briefly sketch a basic con
sensus regarding this role as interpreted by several authors, before discuss
ing the more controversial and interesting theoretical views.
The berdache is a person who is usually male but sometimes female or
intersexed.11 This person assumes as least some of the occupations, dress,
and other behaviours associated with the "other" (or different) sex, at least
some of the time. This type of person is labelled by Native American so
cieties with a title distinct from "man" or "woman," and the berdache has
a recognized and accepted social status which is frequently rooted in my
thology. They often serve a meditating role between men and woman; a po
sition afforded by their distinctness and special spirit. This distinct and even
unusual status also affords the berdache special spiritual power as the medi
ator between the spiritual and physical worlds. Sexuality is variable (Col
lander and Kochems 1983; Martin and Voorhies 1975; Bolin 1987; Wil
liams 1986; Kessler and Mckenna 1978).

State of Research and Documentation

Williams discusses the state of research on the berdache (1986:3-14). The
documentation on the berdache has been, until recently, largely hidden
away as a peripheral topic in ethnographies or in early explorers" and mis
sionaries" accounts of what was presented as the base immorality of the
savages. There are a number of reasons for the lack of information. Histo
rians have typically shown a basic lack of interest in the internal organiza
tion of Native societies. Furthermore, historians and more recently ethnohis
torians have tended to consider men killing each other to be of far more im
portance in understanding the past than the history of sexuality and
sex/gender systems. Homophobic Western attitudes have led to voluntary,
and even mandatory censorship, such as the 1975 decision of the Executive
Board of the American Anthropological Association which voted "not to
endorse research on homosexuality across national borders" (cited in Wil
liams 1986:13). According to Read this "is indicative of the persistence of
[homophobic] Western attitudes ... though it [homosexuality] is probably
as prevalent as witchcraft [it] is morally distasteful" (ibid.).
Additional reasons for the lack of knowledge available on the berdache
status include: missed references; "extinct" societies; inhibitions of anthro
pologists about discussing sex and sexuality and native inhibitions about
discussing such matters for reasons of secrecy or, amongst some Christian

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Schnarch / Neither Man nor Woman: Berdache 111

natives, out of fear of embarrassment and the self-conscious desire to sup

press the "shameful" traditions of the past.

Range and Distribution

Collander and Kochems find the berdache institution to be present in 113
societies in North America, north of Mexico, as recorded by anthropologists
and others since the time of contact. In many societies the evidence for the
status is either missing altogether or ambiguous. A complete absence of the
institution is only explicitly reported for nine groups. But even these in
stances are on shaky ground because numerous cases of explicit denials of
the berdache status have been reported for societies in which the status is
known to have existed (1983:444-445). Furthermore, the presence of the
very similar "soft man" status amongst the Chuckchee of Northern Siberia
(Bogoras 1907) points to the possibility that the berdache status was
brought to America by the first people to come across the Bering Strait. If
this is correct, the implications for antiquity and distribution are enormous.
Combined with the reasons delineated above, it seems likely that berdache
status was even more widespread than currently acknowledged: "We can
not assume that berdaches were completely absent from any Native Ameri
can culture, and we need to question statements that suggest its nonex
istence" (Williams 1986:4).12

Sexuality
Berdaches, without recorded exception, had sexual relations only with non
berdaches. Otherwise, they were not restricted. Non-berdache women and
men could have sex with men, women and berdaches. Sexuality, in general,
was highly variable.
Sexuality was not considered as important an element in definitions of
gender within North American Native societies as it is in Euro-Western so
cieties. Williams (1986) argues that a person's spiritual essence was of pri
mary importance, while Whitehead explains that North American Native
gender attributions, in contrast to Euro-Western ones, foregrounded occupa
tion and social behaviour. Choice of sexual partners, she says, was of sec
ondary interest (1981:97) in assigning gender. Unlike Euro-American soci
ety heterosexuality was not rigidly mandatory (Firestone 1978). This is not
to suggest, though, that man-woman "marriage" unions were not also the
norm.

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 112 Anthropologica XXXIV (1992)

Clothing
Although, generally speaking, berdaches "cross dressed" (i.e., wore the
clothing of the "other" sex), there is great variability in the literature about
this. Male berdaches often wore the clothes and hairstyles of women and of
ten imitated their voices. Female berdaches often dressed as men. Most fre
quently clothing choice would be contextual. Often elements of men's
wardrobes and women's wardrobes were combined. Sometimes the ber
dache would make and wear clothing that was completely distinct from
women or men.

Clothing, like many aspects of the berdache status, was variable acros
cultures. For example, the Pima's male berdaches took the speech and pos
tures of women but not their dress (Hill 1938:339), while in other societies
there were female berdaches who did not wear men's clothing. There were
instances of individual choice in dress but most commonly the choice o
clothing depended on the gender association of the task at hand (e.g., cook
ing, hunting) or the "marital status" of the berdache (Collander and Ko
chems 1983:446).
According to Landes and Lurie, becoming a male berdache is a transfor
mation which occurred in several stages. The status was adopted gradually
with the adoption of women's clothing as the final stage and the end of the
process (Landes 1970:198-202; Lurie 1953:708). The label of transvestite
as applied to berdaches will be discussed below.

Occupations
Berdaches usually adopted the occupations of the gender whose clothing
they assumed. This was a particularly significant characteristic of their sta
tus. It is one of the most often noted traits and, like cross dressing, it is one
of the most significant (Collander and Kochems 1983:447).
Another feature of the status was the very frequently cited proficiency
that the berdache had in the performance of the tasks specific to the gender
whose clothing s/he assumed. For example, there are many accounts of very
successful female berdache hunters (Devereux 1937:515).
The berdaches tended to be very successful in their ventures and very
productive. This success and wealth is attributed to a number of factors in
cluding: the productive capacities of a male berdache-to-man marriage
which did not need to raise offspring (Devereux 1937:513-515; Hill
1935:274); the claim that they had superior strength; their supernatural
powers and, perhaps most significantly, their ability to combine men's and
women's economic activities. Without the restrictions of the sexual division
of labour, the berdache had great economic opportunities (Collander and
Kochems 1983:447-448).

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Schnarch / Neither Man nor Woman: Berdache 113

In some societies the berdache performed special services, often at birth

or death. One of the most significant roles played by the berdache was that
of mediator and intermediary between men and women in cases of disputes.
This follows a tenet widespread in Native American religions: Where there
are polarities, there are mediators. These mediators hold the polarities to
gether "to keep the world from disintegrating" (Williams 1986:20).

Warfare
Berdache status has occasionally been associated with men who did not
want to be warriors out of fear (i.e., the berdache as coward). The male ber
dache was frequently, but not always, excluded from warfare, which was,
on the whole, a male-only activity. On the other hand, in many societies,
male berdaches did fight, but wore men's clothing at this time. Sometimes
they even had particularly significant roles in the "war complex," as they
had special powers (amongst the Cheyenne Indians, for instance [Hdebel
1960:77]). Female berdaches, it seems, took part in warfare to an even
greater extent than non-berdache woman warriors.
Regardless of the extent to which berdaches took part in warfare, or of
their specific relation to it, like their relation to other aspects of culture they
were, in this respect, notably distinct from men or women.

Spiritual Aspects and Ceremonial Roles

The spiritual power and position is the most difficult aspect of the ber
dache's role to understand because it requires understanding of, and contex
tualization within, Native American religious belief and ceremonialism. A
rigorous description of this spirituality is beyond the scope of this paper and
beyond the scope of my knowledge. Nonetheless, it is important to note the
great significance of this aspect of life, and the spirituality of berdaches in
particular, to traditional Native Americans. Williams (1986), throughout his
work, strongly emphasizes that the berdache's spirit, or spiritual essence, is
considered to be the most salient aspect of their existence. Referring to Na
tive American spirituality:

They have the greatest faith in dreams, by which they imagine that the deity
informs them of future events, [and] enjoins them certain penances ... I
have known several instances of some of their men, who by virtue of an ex
traordinary dream, have been affected to such a degree as to abandon every
custom characteristic of their sex and adopt the dress and manners of the
women. They are never ridiculed or despised by the men on account of their
new costumes, but are, on the contrary, respected as saints or beings in some
degree inspired. (Early 19th century, Peter Grant, as cited in Williams
1986:31)

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 114 Anthropologica XXXIV (1992)

These dreams or visions which "instruct" the person to become a ber

dache are very widely known and reported. For example, such vision expe
riences are described amongst the Winnebago and Iowa (Lurie
1953:70,711) and amongst the Santee Dakota and Potawatomi (Landes
1970:57,190-191). The other primary, though less widespread, factor which
is widely reported as preceding the assumption of berdache status is an un
usual interest on the part of a child in the work and members of the "other
sex." These two factors are neither contradictory nor mutually exclusive. In
fact, they are often found in combination with each other, as well as with
other forms of "recruitment."
Certain mythological figures could be considered to validate and, by as
sociation, valorize the role of berdache. Normally, though, the mythological
figure was not a berdache, but an intersex or intersex twins born to first man
and first woman (e.g., Hill 1935:273-274). Real and mythological intersexes
were strongly associated with berdaches. Consider for example, the Navajo
distinction, as reported by Hill (1935:273), between "real Nadle" (intersex)
and "those who pretend they are Nadle." While this real vs. pretend Nadle
represents an example of an application of the sex/gender distinction (per
haps third sex and third gender), it also draws attention to the difficulty of
distinguishing sex (real) from gender (fake).
The ceremonial-religious role of the berdache overlaps with that of Sha
man. Their responsibilities include mediation between the worlds of spirit
and flesh (i.e., the physical and spiritual), healing and a general responsibil
ity for the welfare of the whole society. Shamans are not necessarily ber
daches, but berdaches are usually considered to be powerful sorts of sha
mans. The Mohaves believed that women shamans were more powerful
than men shamans and berdache shamans were more powerful yet. The ber
dache's ceremonial and spiritual roles involved them in very significant
ways with almost every aspect of Native life (Williams 1986:31-43).

Characterizing the Berdache

The berdache institution has been variously described as, and confused
with, intersex, institutionalized homosexuality, transvestism, gender cross
ing or transsexuals and gender-mixing. I suggest that all of these character
izations are a result of misunderstandings of the nature of the status result
ing from an ethnocentric perspective that is unable or unwilling to concep
tualize more than two sexes or genders. The writers come from a culture in
which the gender and sex system is rigid and dichotomous. Gender attribu
tion into one of two categories is taken for granted. When a puzzling gender
role is presented, the Western writers have tried to fit it into their own
sex/gender system and conceptualizations. They search for somewhat analo

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Schnarch / Neither Man nor Woman: Berdache 115

gous categories in Western society and call it a match. The basic errors can
be simply understood as ethnocentrism and can be avoided by understand
ing folk classification systems and the nature of the specific sex and gender
construction in the societies in question. In doing so, I will hopefully arrive
at a more appropriate gender attribution for the berdache.

Berdache as an Institutionalized Homosexuality

Devereux (1937) and more recently Katz (1976) are two of the people who
conceptualize berdaches as an example of the institutional sanctioning of
homoerotic behaviour. Devereux's belief in rigidly dichotomized gender
role categories kept him from understanding that the berdache role is not
synonymous with either the man or the woman gender role (Kessler and
McKenna 1978:28). Katz's political agenda of reclaiming and writing Gay
American history may have been the motivation for his characterization of
the berdache as homosexual.
There are two reasons to reject the homosexual characterization. First of
all, as outlined earlier, a berdache's sexuality was highly variable. Neither
same sex sexuality nor same gender sexuality is a necessary correlate of
berdachehood.
Secondly, if we accept that berdaches are neither men nor women but
rather third and forth genders, then only berdache-berdache sexuality could
be construed as homosexual and as noted, this did not occur. From this per
spective, male berdache-man sexuality or female-berdache-woman sexual
ity are by definition heterosexual.

Berdache as Transvestite

Devereux (1937) uses the terms "berdache" and "transvestite" inter

changeably. A great deal of the anthropological literature refers to ber
daches as transvestites. There are several reasons that this is not an accurate
characterization. Firstly, there are instances in which men dressed as women
but were not berdaches. These cases were related to disgrace for cowardice
in battle and have no relation to berdachehood (Lurie 1953:710, Collander
and Kochems 1983:443). Secondly, berdaches, as stated earlier, did not al
ways wear the clothing of the "opposite sex.' Furthermore, they frequently
wore a combination of both men and women's clothing or even altogether
unique clothing.
In the terminology outlined, a berdache's gender assignment and gender
identity are consistent with each other but are not in contradiction with
her/his choice of clothing. The berdaches choice of clothing matches her/his
gender role or is an example of the great license (freedom of choice) that

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 116 Anthropologica XXXIV (1992)

s/he (...) has and therefore berdache and transvestite cannot be considered
synonymous.

Berdache as Intersex
Non-Natives, including anthropologists, have been so confused by the
strange berdache role that they have sometimes mistaken berdaches with
hermaphrodites. This term implies genitalia that are neither "properly"
male or female. Berdaches have "normal" genitalia, as has been confirmed
by curious and invasive whites. One possible reason for the confusion is
linguistic. Natives sometimes characterize berdaches as "half-man/half
woman" or "half and half people." Combine this with Western gender
construction's emphasis on physical traits ?hair and body hair, breasts, gen
italia?and we can understand the mistake. By contrast, the North American
natives place far more emphasis on a person's spirit or spiritual essence, the
physical body is secondary (Williams 1986).
Another simple distinction between the berdache and the intersex is the
physical/cultural distinction. Intersex status is permanent, berdachehood is
not. Even amongst the Navajo, who explicitly recognize an intersex cate
gory as well as a berdache category, there is a distinction made. Intersexes
are Nadle and berdaches are "those who pretend to be Nadle" (Hill 1935;
Martin and Voorhies 1975:87).

Berdachism and Transsexualism

Angelino and Shedd successfully steered away from the terms hermaphro
ditism and transvestism to arrive at the notion of gender crossing or
transsexualism. They write that a berdache is a person who "assumes the
role and status of the opposite sex" (1955:125). Whitehead, more recently
characterized berdaches as "gender-crossers ... becoming a member of the
opposite sex." She considers the transsexual in our society to be an appro
priate analog (1981:93,96).
While male berdaches sometimes do women's work and wear women's
clothing, they do not bear children. They act as mediators between men and
women, have special responsibilities and a distinct "spirit." It seems, there
fore, inappropriate to assign them the status of transsexual, which essen
tially entails fulfilling all of the roles of the "other" sex.
At the root of this transsexual designation is the Western dichotomous
view of sex and gender. There are two genders and they are "opposites."
You must be one or the other. In our society, transsexuals (i.e., people
whose gender assignments and gender identities do not match) often opt for
surgery to establish this match. A berdache's gender assignment and iden

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Schnarch / Neither Man nor Woman: Berdache 117

tity do not conflict. The berdache's gender identity, though, does conflict
with Euro-Western gender assignments.

Berdachism as Gender Mixing

Collander and Kochems refer to berdache as a kind of gender mixing or
"movement toward a somewhat intermediate status" (1983:443). This is a
much more subtle definition than those discussed above. There is certainly
some validity to this notion if we understand that berdaches take on some of
the behaviour and roles of men and some of those of women. But if we al
ternatively view this not as "taking on" behaviours of men and women, but
as "sharing" behaviours with men and women, then the term "mixing"
becomes invalid.
Furthermore, the distinct behaviours and roles of the berdache (for ex
ample, their special spirituality and the very ability to "combine" activi
ties) are all elements of the berdache status which are not "mixed in" from
women or men.

The concept of gender mixing is another appropriate response from a

gender dichotomizing perspective which is unable to perceive this institu
tion outside the basic Euro-Western framework. On the other hand, the no
tion of mixing does entail the recognition of individuals who are not pr
cisely equal to women or men.

Conclusion
As I have elaborated, the berdache has a combination of dressing patterns
and sex assignment that is shared neither by men nor women. The combina
tion of their sex assignment and their occupational roles are also distinct.
Their position in the "war complex" is often distinct from the warfare role
played by people with the gender assignment of man or woman. In their
sexuality, berdaches, unlike men or women, never have sexual relationships
with other berdaches. Their spiritual role, although overlapping with
shamanism to some extent, is distinct in that berdaches act as mediators be
tween women and men and sometimes perform specialized services that no
one else could. Their spiritual powers are impressive and unparalleled. Lin
guistically, natives used different referents for berdaches than they did for
ordinary men and women. Finally, living traditionalist natives and ber
daches consider the spiritual essence of the berdache to be distinct from
men's and women's, and unique. Therefore, they should be understood ne
ther as women nor as men. Female berdaches are a third gender and mal
berdaches are a fourth. But if we follow some of the mythology, the ber
dache was the first gender. In fact a berdache was the first human, preceding
not only European arrival in this land, but men and women as well.

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 118 Anthropologica XXXIV (1992)

Kessler and McKenna question the premise that gender is an inevitable

dichotomy and argue that it is continuous. They conclude that "biological,
psychological and social differences do not lead to our seeing two genders.
Our seeing two genders leads to the "discovery" of biological, psychologi
cal, and social differences (1978:163). This radical perspective asserts the
primacy of gender attribution and has far reaching implications for all as
pects of gender or sex research.
From the evidence of the berdache, there emerges the conclusion that
gender as a bipolar classification system is a cultural construct. Berdaches
should be understood as third and fourth genders and the sex/gender system
should be understood as a way to divide up humanity. The full implications
of this sort of argument for sex/gender studies and for Euro-Western (at
least) feminism and feminist theorizing remain to be seen, but I would argue
that the existence of the berdache, as well as other non-dichotomous gender
systems cross-culturally,13 strongly support certain feminist models for a
sexually egalitarian society. The existence of third and fourth genders serve
as strong buttresses in the construction of new models of sex and gender
which eschew the basic dichotomies.
Amongst the fluorescence of new feminist ideas, particularly since the
1970s, is a stream of thought which I have referred to as "Gender Prolifera
tion" (Schnarch n.d. a). An ideal society within a gender proliferation
model would not propose a "unisex" world (like that of some liberal femi
nist models), instead, a diversity of (gender) roles would be possible. An in
dividual could hold "masculine" traits (e.g., objectivity, agressivity, ra
tionality) and "feminine" traits (e.g., nurturing, responsibility, sensitivity)
in any combination, including "pure" masculine or feminine. Given time,
these traits would lose their gender associations and simply become gender
neutral traits to be adopted (or not) by individuals hodge-podge, mix-and
match or don't match if you prefer.
Gender proliferation is not, as the label might imply, specifically about
adding third and fourth genders. It is about diversity. It proposes the aboli
tion of a formula for both gender and genders, as well as the lack of a for
mula by which sex and gender are linked. Knowledge about radically differ
ent sex/gender systems in other societies can help inform and support such
feminist models and goals for social change. This knowledge can serve to
take us beyond the rigid dichotomous conceptions of sex and gender that
bare central to the organization of the Euro-Western patriarchal system.

Notes
1. This paper was the winning entry of the 1991 Northeastern Anthropological Associa
tion Student Essay Competition, undergraduate category.

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Schnarch / Neither Man nor Woman: Berdache 119

2. I would like to thank those who helped me in various ways while working on this pa
per: H. Bristol, R. Keesing and especially my insightful undergraduate friends.
3. Feminist analyses and discussions of gender-related dichotomies can be found,
amongst others, in de Beauvoir (1940), Hein (1984), Ortner (1974) and Whitbeck
(1984).
4. The cultural construction of "woman" and "man" has been fairly well explored in
feminist writings and has been developed in cross-cultural perspective in Rosaldo and
Lamphere (1974) and in Ortner and Whitehead (1981).
5. The number of distinctions, though, has been occasionally exaggerated due to the
linguistic error of failing to distinguish prefixes and adjectives from nouns.
6. Brown (1984) and Atran (1990) each discuss "regularities" and "uniformities" in
cross-cultural folk classification.
7. Keesing (1987) addresses the question of how cultural (i.e., folk) models can be por
trayed as monolithic, idealized and normative.
8. Keesing (1987) discusses the questionable distinction of "folk" vs. "expert" models.
A discussion of the concept of folk classification and its specific applications with re
spect to sex and gender can be found in Martin and Voorhies (1975).
9. My usage of this term differs from that of Rubin (1975) who coined it originally.
10. In "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence," Rich (1980) argues that
(within a Euro-Western framework at least) there is not much "choice" involved.
11. It should be noted here that the "female" and "male" labels used here, whether they
are berdaches or not, are Native American (folk) sex categories. Amongst the Navajo,
the Nadle, an intersex, was also recognized (Hill 1935:273). Geertz (1983) discusses
the Nadle as a third sex.
12. The berdache status continues to exist in the late 20th century. In fact, Williams' The
Spirit and the Flesh (1986) is, in part, based on the field research he carried out in 1980
interviewing and living with "real live" berdaches.
13. These include the "soft man" of the Chuckchee in Siberia (Bogoras 1907), the Mahu
role in Polynesia (Levy 1971, 1973), the Hijras of India (Nanda 1990) and the Xanith
of Oman (Wikan 1977), amongst others. See Williams (1986), Nanda (1990) and
Schnarch (n.d. a and b) for comparative outlines and discussions.

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