The Zuni Man-Woman

Despite a few flaws, this book is ultimately a gem on a topic that is all too often ignored. Most of the resources I've been able to find on two-spirit people have been very broad explorations of the topic from a pan-Indian angle. While that may be necessary for an introduction, it leaves a severe lack of depth and fails to illustrate how specific individuals negotiate the fine points of gender-identity given highly specific contexts of culture and religion. This book gives exactly that--its focus on the historical figure We'wha givens character and personality to the exploration, and it certainly contains more information on the lhamana (the Zuni two-spirit identity) than you'll find anywhere else, giving all the cultural ideologies necessary to know how the lhamana role functioned contextually. It also gives information on how constructs of gender have changed through history and explores some of the varied ways that contemporary queer Zuni have negotiated identities in light of their similarities and differences both from historical lhamana and current white queer culture. Ultimately, this book is a tremendous treasure trove to anyone who wants to explore concepts of gender variance cross-culturally.I have a few issues with Will Roscoe's writing, though. It seems a touch phallocentric--unsurprising from yet another white, gay male anthropologist exploring these topics. He insists on referring to We'wha exclusively using masculine pronouns (he, him, his) even though her community and friends like Matilda Coxe Stevenson would fluctuate between different pronouns, often using the feminine to refer to We'wha. He repeatedly notes her male body, seeming to imply that her sex is more important than her gender. It's as if it's important to him that We'wha is a queered male, even though the whole point of the book is to explain that the lhamana role bridges masculine and feminine identities. Then there's the fact that her refers to Matilda Coxe Stevenson as "Matilda Stevenson," refusing to acknowledge her use of her maiden name, which was a bold choice for a woman of the mid-19th century. I'll take whatever information I can get on mixed-gender identities, but I can only roll my eyes when the information is presented from a male-centered worldview.

I learned so much about Zuni culture and about the life of We’wha. I loved how much information was provided and that the author described all aspects of Zuni culture —he described Zuni practises and religion in great detail, which was fantastic. My only complaint is that the author continually referred to We’wha as a berdache, which is extremely offensive. The author acknowledged that the correct term for We’wha’s gender is lhamana, but opted to use the slur instead. It was really hard for me to read because of the slur and because the author continually referred to We’wha as a man in a dress.

My husband ordered several books on Native Americans. He likes this book.

This book is very informative in how Native American viewed none heterosexual orientations and relationship's as spiritual powerful and healthy and how Wiwa was quite a respected figure in the tribe . Highly recommended for those studying Native American view of sexuality and spirituality .

This is an excellent book and this copy is to replace my original copy which disappeared or was loaned. It is the true account of a real person and a fascinating story.

i received this book as was promised right on time.it was in mint conditionbetter than expectedvery happy with this transactionthank you very much to all involvedsincerely

Great

Great ethnohistory and read