ANSWERS | What does the 2 in LGBTQ2 mean?

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The LGBTQ2 is not a widely used acronym and is not widely used outside Canada. However, its popularity is on the rise.

What does the 2 in LGBTQ2 mean?

The 2 in LGBTQ2 stands for ‘two-spirit’. It is an umbrella term for being a “two spirit” described as a Native (North) American who identifies as non-binary, non-cisgendered or genderqueer. It could also refer to someone who identifies as non-heterosexual. It is used to describe certain spiritual people. It is not interchangeable with LGBT Native American.

Wikipedia explains, “it is a sacred, spiritual and ceremonial role that is recognised and confirmed by the Elders of the Two Spirit’s ceremonial community. While some have found the term a useful tool for intertribal organising, not all Native cultures conceptualise gender or sexuality this way, and most tribes use names in their own languages.”

It was adopted in 1990 to replace an outdated and now considered offensive term.

The term is not widely used outside North America.

Can you expand this definition? Use the comment box below, and we’ll add to this article.

Glossary LGBT Acronym

Comments

7 responses to “ANSWERS | What does the 2 in LGBTQ2 mean?”

20th June 2017

Glynn TG

Once again Canada in the lead….. wooohoooo. ???????

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20th June 2017

Philip

No no no no no no – stop giving yourself a f’ing label.

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20th June 2017

Skyler M

Wasnt there an “A” and a “+” in there at some point? I’m losing track of this acronym

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19th June 2017

Colin P

This acronym has already got too long and unwieldy and has become progressively less comprehensible. It is trying to include everyone so why not just say so? “For all” would do it. Freedom for all, peace for all, wellbeing for all.

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19th June 2017

Thom Prentice

This is ridiculous. I suggest that we use LGBTQIABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567891011 …but then some emotionally needy whiner with NO self esteem would, well, WHINE that LOWER CASE letters aren’t included.

btw the avatar means HANDS OFF VENEZUELA which is a FAR MORE IMPORTANT MATTER, given that the two-spirit persons of Native First Nations America NEVER used the terms “non-binary, non-cisgendered or genderqueer” and

given that this LGBTQ2 REPRESENTS *** YET ONE MORE THEFT *** OF NATIVE FIRST NATIONS AMERICA’S CULTURAL IDENTITY BY *** WHITE PEOPLE *** WHO ALWAYS EXTRACT A SYMBOL BUT NEVER THE CONTEXT just as WHITE PEOPLE STOLE LAND but NEVER PAID FOR IT. This amounts to ONE MORE CHPATER in the 400+ YEAR HISTORY of Englo-Euro- white-inflicted CULTURAL GENOCIDE.

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1. 19th June 2017
  
  James Thomas
  
  Soooo shouty…. you okay hun?
  
  Reply
19th June 2017

Harlan Pruden

Thank you so much for writing this. Although there is currently no style guide – there’s push from the community for the use of the term “Two-Spirit” and not “Two-Spirited” or “Two-Spiritedness”, this last two terms are a verb and adjective respectively, where “Two-Spirit” is a noun.

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