Ok yes! ESP about that winke point. I actually had a phase of being highly interested and self-studying Native American and tribal indigenous cultures in general. I read extensively from the Native American Renaissance and played around with learning a bit of Inuit and Lakota. These alternative cultures in tune with the sacred feminine really gave me hope that we can return to that type of way... a world in which women can literally be naked and it’s fine. I recently went to verify this as well, the bugis and some other cultures that I briefly skimmed over... first off I haven’t ever seen a culture that had a role for “lesbian” mtfs or “gay” ftms. There is no precedence for this.

Secondly, like you said, I saw no precedent for any of these “trans” roles actually being considered the opposite sex: a winkte is not a woman, neither is a calalai, etc. Buck Angel hit the nail on the head in a recent tweet “a transgender woman is a transgender woman”.

Thirdly, most cultures with more “gender” roles have a role for a feminine homosexual male... this includes the Lakota, please correct me if I’m wrong but I never heard of ftms in Lakota culture. Far fewer also have a separate role for masculine homosexual females. In many cultures this ftm role is a way women can get around limitations and oppression (calabai can go out at night and take “man” jobs).

Lastly, until very recently any tribal culture with any “extra genders” had no access to medical transition whatsoever. That must have really changed the whole game, as our modern trans movement has sprung entirely from our plastic surgery technology. I feel like that is a big thing people are taking for granted.

My personal assessment of many native cultures is that the goal was the actualización of the individual. Some things were separated by sex, but “gender” wasn’t a limitation for people the way it is in our patriarchal culture. The culture existed to facilitate the actualización of each individuals unique gifts. Even if it was a backwards person who does everything backwards. They understood that if everyone is bringing their gifts, the groups has abundance.

I feel like when genderists are looking at these cultures they are doing it from our consciousness, not the consciousness that was actually present in these cultures. Considering that in these cultures, people were so connected to the sacred feminine and embodied, hunters could sense a seal was killed when it was too far away to even see.

Anyway a bunch of good points you have. There is an erasure of women/females going on, and honestly I think the biggest reason men aren’t having the same this, is because women hate being seen as women. It’s really women pushing this tbh. It’s sad.

A lot of trans men are showing up in my dating apps. Hell, I wish I could flip a switch and live as a man. But yeah I’ve been trying to connect to my poom and have been reading this book “Pussy”. It’s been quite emotional accepting this feminine part of myself that I’ve been ashamed of so long. I’m trying to do the work of undoing the effects of patriarchy, which involves opening up and feeling a lot of really painful stuff. It involves... embracing the (sacred) feminine! gasp. Here I am emphasizing my masculine parts and not wanting anything to do with “femininity”. I just feel that TIFs have shut off from that, which is totally ok because it’s really difficult and overwhelming... but sad, and it’s no wonder women feel betrayed by trans men.