title: "My spirit in my heart": identity experiences and challenges among American Indian two-spirit women.
abstract: Many Native women embrace the term two-spirit to capture their sexuality and gender expression. By analyzing the narratives of five two-spirit women who are Native activists, we explored contemporary understandings of the concept and what it means for Native communities. The incorporation of the identity within indigenous worldviews, its manifestation in terms of (be)coming out, and the triple stressors of heterosexism, racism, and sexism emerged as key themes.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington School of Social Work, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. kw5@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Karina L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Evans-Campbell
authors.forename: Jane M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Simoni
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ronquillo
authors.forename: Rupaleem
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhuyan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D011822:Race Relations; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D012945:Social Values; D029181:Spirituality; D044465:White People