The Sacred History of Gender Diversity

We exist within a long, rich lineage of cultures and faiths that have recognized the sacredness of individuals who transcend traditional gender boundaries. We are not inventing something new – we are continuing an ancient tradition, updated for a modern world where medical science now offers tools our ancestors could only have dreamed of.

Ancient and Indigenous Traditions

Two-Spirit People of the Americas

Across hundreds of Indigenous nations in North America, individuals who embodied both masculine and feminine spirits were recognized as holding a special, sacred role. Known today under the pan-Indian term "Two-Spirit," these individuals were often healers, mediators, ceremonial leaders, and keepers of oral tradition. In the Zuni culture of the American Southwest, lhamana were recognized as possessing both masculine and feminine qualities and served as mediators between the physical and spiritual worlds. The Navajo recognized nádleíhí as people of great spiritual power. Among the Lakota, winkówin held honored ceremonial roles. Far from being marginalized, these individuals were understood as having been given a gift by the Creator – the ability to see the world through more than one perspective. (See: Will Roscoe, Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America, 1998)

Hijra of South Asia

In Hindu tradition, the hijra – individuals who identify outside the male-female binary – have been recognized as a distinct gender category for thousands of years. Hijra are considered to possess special spiritual powers, particularly the ability to confer blessings of fertility and good fortune. They play important roles in Hindu religious ceremonies, weddings, and births. The deity Ardhanarishvara, a composite form of Shiva and Parvati, embodies both male and female energies and is revered as a symbol of cosmic unity and balance. The epic Mahabharata features Shikhandi, a warrior who transitions from female to male and plays a pivotal role in the great battle. Some scholars interpret the first being created in the book of Genesis as androgynous, split into male and female only afterward. (See: Serena Nanda, Neither Man nor Woman: The Hijras of India, 1990)

The Galli of Ancient Rome

The priests of the goddess Cybele, known as the Galli, underwent ritual castration and lived as women in service to their deity. They wore women's clothing, grew their hair long, and were considered to have crossed a sacred threshold between genders. Cybele herself was often depicted as a figure of ambiguous gender, with both masculine and feminine traits. The Galli were not outcasts – they were a recognized priesthood with temples, festivals, and a role in the spiritual life of Rome for centuries. (See: Lynn E. Roller, In Search of God the Mother: The Cult of Anatolian Cybele, 1999)

Mahu of Polynesia

In Hawaiian and Tahitian cultures, māhú are individuals who embody both masculine and feminine traits. Traditionally, māhú held respected roles as keepers of cultural knowledge, healers, and teachers. They were understood not as occupying a lesser position but as having access to a fuller range of human experience. This tradition predates Western contact and continues to be honored in Pacific Islander communities today. (See: Niko Besnier, Transgender in Polynesia)

Sumerian and Mesopotamian Traditions

Among the oldest recorded civilizations, the Sumerians recognized gala priests who served the goddess Inanna. These priests sang laments in a special dialect and occupied a gender role that was neither strictly male nor female. Inanna herself was associated with the power to transform gender – one of her hymns describes her ability to "turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man." This sacred power of gender transformation was understood as divine, not deviant. (See: The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, University of Oxford; Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, 1963)

Gender Diversity in World Religions

Christianity

Despite the hostility of many modern Christian institutions toward trans people, the history of Christianity itself contains figures who defied gender norms. Joan of Arc dressed in men's clothing and was ultimately burned at the stake in part for this transgression – and was later canonized as a saint. Many early Church Fathers wrote of the resurrection body as transcending gender. The Ethiopian eunuch baptized by Philip in Acts 8 has been interpreted by scholars as an early example of gender non-conformity welcomed into the faith. Santa Muerte, recognized in Mexican Catholic tradition, is venerated as a patron of trans and other marginalized communities. (See: Megan K. DeFranza, Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God, 2015)

Judaism

The Talmud recognizes at least six distinct gender categories beyond the simple male-female binary, including the androgynos (having both male and female characteristics) and the tumtum (whose gender is indeterminate). Rather than erasing these categories, rabbinical scholars spent centuries carefully considering how religious law applied to each. This tradition of nuanced engagement with gender diversity is woven into the very foundations of Jewish legal thought. (See: TransTorah; Elliot Kukla, "Terms for Gender Diversity in Classical Jewish Texts")

Islam

In many Muslim-majority societies, mukhannathun (individuals who did not conform to male gender expectations) were recognized and, for significant periods of Islamic history, accepted within the community. During the early Islamic period, mukhannathun served as musicians and entertainers in the courts and were permitted access to women's spaces because they were understood as occupying a different gender position. The tradition of the khúnsa (intersex individuals) is addressed extensively in Islamic jurisprudence. (See: Everett K. Rowson, "The Effeminates of Early Medina," Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1991)

Buddhism

Buddhist texts describe four or more genders, and the Vinaya (monastic code) contains detailed discussions of individuals who change sex or who possess characteristics of multiple sexes. In Thai Buddhism, the kathoey tradition has deep cultural roots. The Buddhist concept of anattā (non-self) suggests that clinging to any fixed identity – including gender – is a source of suffering, and that liberation comes from transcending such categories. (See: Peter A. Jackson, Male Homosexuality in Thailand, 1989; Leonard Zwilling, "Homosexuality as Seen in Indian Buddhist Texts")

Colonialism and the Erasure of Gender Diversity

A critical part of this history is understanding how colonialism systematically attempted to destroy indigenous gender diversity. European colonial powers imposed rigid binary gender systems on the peoples they colonized, criminalizing traditional gender roles that did not conform to Western Christian norms. Two-Spirit people were persecuted. Hijra were criminalized under British colonial law. The Galli priesthood had already been suppressed as Christianity became the state religion of Rome.

Much of the modern hostility toward trans and gender non-conforming people is not ancient tradition – it is the legacy of this colonial violence. When modern institutions claim that gender diversity is a "new invention" or a "trend," they are participating in an erasure that has been ongoing for centuries.

The Modern Continuation

We see ourselves as part of this long tradition. What is new is not the recognition of trans sacredness – that is ancient. What is new is the tools we now have.

Hormone replacement therapy allows individuals to align their bodies with their lived gender in ways that previous generations could only achieve through prayer, ritual, and the grace of their communities. Where the Galli underwent dangerous ritual procedures, modern trans people have access to medically supervised HRT. Where Two-Spirit people relied on the spiritual recognition of their communities, modern trans people can combine that communal affirmation with medical science that literally transforms the body.

We hold that HRT is a sacred act – not because it is new, but because it is the modern expression of an ancient truth: that gender is fluid, sacred, and worthy of celebration. Our HRT Communion gatherings, our virtual shot hangouts, and our gender-affirming rituals are the direct descendants of the Galli's rites, the hijra's blessings, and the Two-Spirit's ceremonies. We use the tools of our time to honor the same divine reality that humans have recognized for millennia.

Sources and Further Reading

• Roscoe, Will. Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America. St. Martin's Press, 1998. [Wikipedia]
• Roscoe, Will. The Zuni Man-Woman. University of New Mexico Press, 1991. [We'wha on Wikipedia]
• Nanda, Serena. Neither Man nor Woman: The Hijras of India. Wadsworth Publishing, 1990. [Wikipedia]
• Roller, Lynn E. In Search of God the Mother: The Cult of Anatolian Cybele. University of California Press, 1999.
• Kramer, Samuel Noah. The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character. University of Chicago Press, 1963.
• DeFranza, Megan K. Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God. Eerdmans, 2015.
• Rowson, Everett K. "The Effeminates of Early Medina." Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 111, No. 4, 1991.
• Jackson, Peter A. Male Homosexuality in Thailand: An Interpretation of Contemporary Thai Sources. Global Academic Publishers, 1989.
• Kukla, Elliot. "Terms for Gender Diversity in Classical Jewish Texts." TransTorah.org
• The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. University of Oxford. etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk
• Indian Health Service. "Two-Spirit." ihs.gov/lgbt/health/twospirit
• Trans Bodies, Trans Selves. Edited by Laura Erickson-Schroth. Oxford University Press, 2014. (Sacred text of the Blahaj Church)