6 Cultures That Recognize More than Two Genders

 Throughout history, many cultures have recognized gender identities other than male and female. Nonbinary people have often occupied unique positions in their societies, serving as priests, artists, and ceremonial leaders. Here are some nonbinary genders recognized by cultures around the world.

• Hijra

  

  Hijras in India

  Hijras participate in a religious procession in India.

  Sam Panthaky—AFP/Getty Images

  Hindu society features the gender hijra, the most common nonbinary identity recognized in India today. Hijras are found in Hindu religious texts and throughout South Asian history. Many hijras are born with male sexual characteristics, though the hijra community also includes intersex people. A unique culture underlies the hijra identity: hijras often leave home to join groups that educate new initiates in spirituality. Hijras assume a religious role in Hindu culture, celebrating rituals like weddings and births. Many believe hijras possess the power to bless or curse others. In recent centuries a stigma arose against hijras, prompted by British colonialism; in fact, an 1871 British law categorized all hijras as criminals. Anti-hijra sentiment continued to build after that, despite Bangladesh, India, and Nepal all having recognized the rights of nonbinary people by 2014.

• Calalai, Calabai, and Bissu

  The Bugis ethnic group of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, recognizes three genders beyond the binary. Calalai refers to people who have female sexual characteristics but present in traditionally masculine ways, often cutting their hair short and dressing in men’s fashions. They also take on a social position similar to men’s, transcending some restrictions placed on women. Calabai are people who have male sexual characteristics but occupy a role like that traditionally occupied by women. Yet calabai don’t identify as women, reject the restrictions that women experience, and do not have their sexual characteristics altered. Calabai often oversee weddings and manage each aspect of the ceremonies. Bissu, another gender, embodies the totality of masculinity and femininity. Bugis people believe that bissu surpasses other genders, encapsulating a spiritual role. Bissu people often wear flowers and carry sacred daggers to symbolize their expansive identity. They perform spiritual rites and are thought to bridge the worldly and the divine.

• Muxe

  

  Muxe

  Political candidates Felina Santiago Valdivieso (left) and her substitute Mistica Sanchez Gomez, both members of the Muxe community, pose for a picture after announcing their official registration before the PRD State Steering Committee (CDE), in Oaxaca, Oaxaca state, Mexico, May 14, 2018.

  Patricia Castellano—AFP/Getty Images

  Muxes constitute a community of people in Mexico who typically have male sexual characteristics but embrace a feminine identity. The word muxe bears a similarity to the Spanish word for “woman,” mujer. Muxes often take on household roles that typically belong to women, such as sewing, cooking, and family care. But the community is not a monolith: muxes express their gender identities in a variety of ways, all united under the umbrella term muxes. The muxe identity is embedded within the culture of the Indigenous Zapotec people, who live mainly in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Though Zapotec culture respects muxe people, muxes still endure certain restrictions: they are usually prohibited from living with their intimate partners or leaving their family homes. Each year, muxes celebrate La Vela de las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro, or the Festival of the Authentic and Intrepid Danger-Seekers, a day of energetic merriment to honor muxes.