Transgender Viking Warriors? Researchers Say They Existed.

Many have heard of the shield-maidens, fierce female Viking warriors who where the equals of men on the battlefield. We have warrior graves with female skeletons, so there is reason to believe that the sagas were correct about their existence.

As a Norwegian I can confirm that Norwegian women had a kind of power and influence women further south in Europe could only dream of, and that also after the Viking age.

On the coast the men were often out fishing or trading, and the women ruled on land. Women kept the keys to the farm, which made them basically the CEO of the enterprise.

However, now some Sweden based researchers bring in some new perspectives. Three years ago, the ornately dressed remains of a high-status Viking warrior from the mid-900s were discovered alongside swords, spears and two slaughtered horses in Birka, Sweden. The researchers argue that the warrior might have been a transgender man, or some shade of trans, non-binary or gender fluid.

Neil Price, a professor of archaeology at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, makes this argument in the book The Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings.

His argument is that the Vikings had pretty strict rules about who could dress up as a man and who could present as a woman, and that the female bodied warriors may be a sign of a much more sophisticated view of sex and gender.

He argues that the Vikings had “a much broader spectrum of gender and identity” than was originally thought.

I have ordered the book and will come back to you when I have read it. I am not yet convinced about the idea that all shield-maidens were trans. They are presented as women in the sagas. But the idea of broader concepts of gender variance in Viking culture does make sense. There were even gender crossing gods, like Loki.

Pink News has more.

The top photo is of the fictional character Laghertha from the TV series Vikings. She was a female warrior and not transgender.

Bugs Bunny as a Positive Transgender and Queer Role model

Crossdressing in cartoons represents in most cases cringeworthy moments – at best.

However, as trans woman and artist Lilly Wachowski points out in the recent transgender Netflix documentary, Disclosure, Bugs Bunny has actually served as a positive role model for male to female transgender people. This is true beyond the world of crossdressing and drag.

Laverne Cox says that Bugs Bunny was presented as adorable, sexy, clever and fun while transgressing gender norms: “It was just fabulous!”

Riley Silverman put it this way, referring to the What’s Opera, Doc? movie embedded at the end of this post:

Despite the ending, as a young closeted trans girl sitting on that floor in the ‘80s, I’d always get excited to re-watch this short whenever it would run. Even knowing of the demise of my hero, I also knew that before it happened I would get to live ever so briefly in the world of Bugs’ turn as Brünnhilde…
While Bugs is Brünnhilde she’s not drawn so as to immediately elicit laughs, instead she’s drawn to really resemble a female character. Rather than looks, the humor of the scene still mostly draws from the sung lyrics, like the playful confidence in which Brünnhilde, upon being told of her beauty, responds, “Yes I know it, I can’t help it.”

It is therefore good news that The US Postal Service presenting a whole series of stamps commemorating Bugs Bunny. Two of them are depicting Bugs Bunny as a woman.

(Stamps are pieces of paper people used glue onto other pieces of paper for long distance communication back in the pre-Internet days. Long story. Don’t worry about it ;)

So is Bugs Bunny really transgender? To be clear: That is a pretty meaningless question, as he/she is a cartoon/comic book character made by people who do not take this too seriously.

But for many transgender people he/she became a positive transgender role model, partly because there were so few around, and – above – all, because he/she was a strong, self-confident and independent character, in spite of living up to the gender stereotypes of the day.

Cracked has published a humorous video discussing the transgender nature of Bugs Bunny. It is very tongue in cheek, but it explains why so many trans people have seen Bugs Bunny as a transgender and queer revolutionary.

Pre-colonial communities’ history of gender variance

BBC has published a very interesting documentary about gender variance in different cultures.

They write:

Some people in Western cultures say that gender is binary and divided into male and female, and that gender fluidity is a recent phenomenon. But this isn’t the case everywhere.
In Indian, Native American and Aboriginal cultures gender is more fluid and has been for centuries.
The BBC’s Gender and Identity correspondent, Megha Mohan, has been speaking to young people from these communities, who are taking to social media in new ways, to educate people about how gender identity is viewed in their culture.

You can watch the documentary here.

Majority of trans people first question their gender before they’re seven years old, landmark study finds. Maybe…

Pink News reports:

Published on March 16 in medical journal JAMA Open Network, the authors found that three-quarters of transgender men and women first experience gender dysphoria by the age of seven.
Thought to be the first time researchers have looked at the age when gender dysphoria first presents in trans people, the authors said their study should help reassure the parents of young trans people.
“For parents, these findings should provide some reassurance that what they’re seeing in their children is natural, that it’s not a ‘phase’, as some have described it,” study co-author Maurice Garcia, a urologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told UPI.
“And, if we as parents and society respond negatively or irresponsibly to what these children are going through, it can have lasting consequences.”

The study also found that, on average, trans people take between 22 and 27 years from first experiencing gender dysphoria to coming out as trans and socially transitioning.

If this study can help cis people understand the reality of transgender identities, all the better. I need to add one caveat, however, and that is that there is an interesting selection bias here. The researchers have only asked trans people who are in the health system and who aim at transitioning. Indeed, the researchers point out that this is a limitation of the study.

I do not know the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and their approach to gender variance, but I do know, for instance, that in Norway trans people who do not live up to the beliefs of the the medical keepers as regards what the correct way of being trans, are turned away.

These gate keepers love trans women who showed sign of femininity at an early age and trans men who were categorized as “tomboys” as kids. Those called “late onset transsexuals” have a much harder time proving their real gender identity, as they do not live up to this ideal.

In other words: You may end up with some kind of feedback loop where only those who do have early childhood memories of gender variance are those that are included in the research.

I am afraid that such studies may be used to invalidate those transgender people who do not live up to these ideals.

Here’s the thing: It is unreasonable to expect that all transgender people have childhood memories of being trans. There are several reasons for this:

Some of them, especially trans people of the older generations, might not have had role models or words that made sense of their feelings at the time, so they do not remember them as transgender feelings.

Others might have been punished severely for expressing identities and desires that violated the gender code, and they have for that reason repressed and forgotten whatever feelings they had of that kind. There is a good reason for the large number of trans women in the military. Many of they have used the military “to man up” and try to live up to the expectations of peers and parents.

Many gender dysphoric trans men and women never get the help they need and they continue to live as their assigned gender. That does not make them less trans.

In other words: There is a lot to learn from studies like this one, but keep in mind that you do not need to transition to be trans, nor do you need clear childhood memories of gender dysphoria.

Michael Zaliznyak; Catherine Bresee; Maurice M. Garcia: Age at First Experience of Gender Dysphoria Among Transgender Adults Seeking Gender-Affirming Surgery

The Rise of Non-binary Fashion

Ruven Afanador and Christina Binkley presents non-binary fashion trends in The Washington Post:

With this jarring image (above), the American Colombian photographer Ruven Afanador insists that the viewer contend with what it means to choose to be feminine or masculine, or something in between, in a world that is far less binary than science has claimed.
Ever since British designer Jonathan Anderson began showing gender-bending menswear collections in London in 2012, fashion has been musing on notions of binary dressing rules. These days it is often challenging to discern the gender of models on fashion runways. Young, flat-chested men in Gucci blouses look much like young, flat-chested women in Gucci blouses.

More photos here.

Health professionals defend transgender youth’s right to proper health care

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health dismisses attempts made at banning health interventions for transgender and gender-diverse youth.

In a press release WPATH says that there is ample scientific evidence for gender transitioning helping transgender youth.

“Some critics have claimed high rates of regret regarding irreversible treatments or procedures such as reconstructive surgeries, implying that children are forced to undergo treatments they may regret. There are no studies to support these claims.
However, recent studies show only a very small percentage of people who undergo gender transition as adults (when irreversible procedures may be administered) regret doing so: roughly 1-3%, which is a small number compared with rates of regret reported for much more common procedures.
Most people who have regrets do so because of a lack of support or acceptance from their family, social groups, work, or other organizations.
Conversely, the benefits that these medically necessary interventions have for the overwhelming majority of youth whose identities are incongruent with their sex assigned at birth are well-documented.
Providers who collaboratively assess youths’ understanding of themselves, their gender identity, and their ability to make informed decisions regarding medical/surgical interventions (which are not offered prior to puberty, and never without the youth’s assent) play a very important role in minimizing future regret.”

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Psychological Association, and the Endocrine Society have published similar statements in support of transgender health care.

Photo: Eoneren

Joanna Santos on what it means to be transgender

Joanna Santos, trans woman and blogger, has put up a series of questions and answers on transgender issues that should be of help to many trans people.

Taliban fighters in makeup

You might find the expression of gender variance in the most unlikely places, as among the hyper-conservative Taliban in Afghanistan.

According to the Guardian, The Barbican in London is preparing an exhibition of photographs found in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2002 by the Magnum photographer Thomas Dworzak.

Photography was banned by the Taliban but a handful of photo studios were allowed to remain open, not least because passport photographs were still needed.

The photographs will be included in a major group show titled Masculinities: Liberation Through Photography featuring work by 50 artists including Annette Messager, Richard Avedon, Isaac Julien and Catherine Opie.

Billy Porter Will Play the Fairy Godmother in Upcoming Cinderella Film

The actor Billy Porter, known from his amazing role in the TV series Pose, will play the role of the fairy godmother in a new Cinderella film, Vogue Reports.

The adaptation is described as a modern retelling of the classic story of Cinderella.

Michelle Ruiz puts it this way:

Imagine what Porter’s Godmother could mean to a little boy who prefers Cinderella gowns to fireman dress-up. I imagine too, the significance to my own kids—when so many animated movies continue to be dominated by white characters—that the sparkly spirit of the Fairy Godmother can be brought to life, and made entirely unique, by a gay, African American man.

Top Photo: Getty Images, Second photo: B Porter Instagram

The Disney version of the fairy godmother is predictably white.

sallymolay:

Two-Spirit Cree Doctor
Dr. James Makokis provides trans healthcare on an Indigenous reserve that serves 2,400 people in Alberta, Canada.
Dr. Makokis is himself two-spirit. Two-spirit is a modern, pan-Indian, umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ceremonial role in their cultures.
Dr. Makokis has created a unique approach to transgender care, combining Indigenous and Western teachings.
In this video you see him in his day to day work. He works long hours, and is so polular, some patients drive 8 hours to see him. His openness about his identity is a big part of it. He liberates his patients to be open about who they are too.