Did you just subsume my gender6/18/2023 Was this an acceptable example social science interests? The post was then brought to my attention. Looking for a reference, he linked to Wikipedia. Sean saw this meme and posted it, finding it interesting. I am a Moderator for the Social stream, along with psychologist Chris Robinson (who also created and leads the community). The community exists to provide a platform to share quality science with the public, to encourage interaction with qualified experts, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Sean reached out to Science on Google+, a community run by over 20 scientists with PhDs in various disciplines. The text reads as if from the perspective of this Indigenous person, saying that “gay marriage” has been sanctioned in “our soil for hundreds of years Your ‘homosexual’ was our Two Spirit people… and we considered them sacred.” The meme depicts an unnamed elderly Native American person, with text advocating same-sex marriage. Sean posted a meme on Google+ (right) about the Two Spirit Native Americans. Sean is an American teacher with a keen interest on science and alternative modes of thinking. My post today is expanded from my post on Science on Google+. The initial post was inspired by Sean Kinney. Public Sociology of Gender & Sexuality via Sean Kinney We-Wah, a Zuni Berdache, from New Mexico, who was born biologically male but lived as a Two Spirit woman. This means being more critical about the ways in which social science ideas are produced and disseminated, especially via social media. We also need to take responsibility for the way we teach and publicly discuss social science ideas. At the same time, I see it important that we publicly own up to, and invite a public discussion about, the changing dynamics of power which influence social theories. It is vital to the longevity of our discipline that sociologists explain our key concepts to general audiences. My focus here is on how we use sociology in the classroom and in social media. Public sociology describes how we produce sociology for mass audiences outside academia. I begin by giving a background on what inspired this post as an example of public sociology. This begins by listening to the way minorities speak about their own experiences, rather than projecting our seemingly-progressive perspective onto Others. There are better ways to appreciate and form solidarity with Other cultures. This perpetuates historical practices that have silenced Indigenous experiences. How do we best communicate the social construction of gender and sexuality to students and to the public? I argue academics and activists need to be mindful that, even with the best of intentions, misappropriation of cultural traditions of minority groups is dangerous. My aim is to start a conversation about how we might expand sociological understandings of gender and sexuality using this case study. I propose that social science needs to move forward from our dominant understandings of the Two Spirit experience. As a sociologist who has researched, published on and taught gender and sexuality courses, I seek to explore how Western social scientists, queer theorists and other social activists have misappropriated the Two Spirit experience to highlight social causes. I identify as a *cis-woman of colour (*that is, my biological and gender identity align). Let me put my analysis in context: I am not Native American nor am I a transgender person. I then discuss the spirituality, gender and sexuality of Two Spirit people as well as the history and culture that informs their social position. My post gives a broad overview of the social science concepts of gender and sexuality. Recent scholarship, however, has questioned this practice, demonstrating that social scientists are applying Western concepts to misappropriate the Two Spirit phenomena. These people are usually revered and there are special circumstances where individuals are allowed to shift their gender position. These groups, including the Two Spirit people, are used as examples in the sociology of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersexual (LGBTQI) issues. In many cultures around the world, people are allowed to live their lives beyond conventional binaries they need not adhere to the biological sex they were born into. Sociology and anthropology have long used the experiences of “third sex” cultures, such as the Native American Two Spirit people, to teach students about the social construction of sex and gender.
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