The Maya have given us evidence for a 3rd gender category based on or expressed through religious, occupational, or sexual identity. One example is of elite women-men and men-women who acted as mediators between the supernatural people and the Maya (Looper 2002). However this behavior like the opposite sex carried out by high ranking members in society, elite and priests, was often only done during religious ceremonies; thus, not constituting a unique 3rd gender category. This does show us though that elite men and women saw importance in accessing specific feminine and masculine traits, giving us the idea that the Maya viewed both sexes as equally important (Hughes). In northwestern Belize the excavation of a mass burial site where commoners and elite are found gives us another important clue. Individual 22 displayed the pelvic morphology of a female but with rounded orbit rims that indicate male. Buried in a place used for domestic ritual and being buried along with the unique grave good of a string ray spine which is not normally found in the region, we are lead to associate this individual as someone who participated in the bloodletting ceremony (Geller 2005). The bloodletting ceremony was an important ritual ceremony that allowed someone to connect with the supernatural and it is assumed that participants engaged in gender-bending for the ceremony. Like this individual, many Maya queens were buried with stingray spines on their pelvic region which is translated as their role as both a man and woman. When a woman completed the bloodletting ceremony she ran the spine though her tongue; while a man through his penis. Many believe that bringing blood from the penis was a man’s way of recreating the menstruation of a woman and acknowledging her important life giving capabilities (Geller 2005). While the Maya might not have had a 3rd gender category they did not see the gender as an-either-or social construction; gender was fluid and the characteristic associated with men and women were important to society and religious function. However, Barbara Hughes research shows that instead of men and women both gender bending it was more so men. Her paper "It's Good to be Queen: The Roles of Maya Women in Ritual Practices" makes the argument that bloodletting is a womanly ritual with the materials being needed made by women and also were used as the connection to the gods. A woman's menstrual cycle, a process seen as difficult and a form of discomfort, was possibly believed to make women more connected with the supernatural realm. When a man performed the bloodletting ceremony he was attempting to imitate a woman's powers to be better connected with the gods. It would then make sense for a man to also come appearing as a woman in dress for the ceremony to thus tap into more feminine aspects and be better suited to connect with the gods. For example in the first picture, we see depicted the ruler of Copan, 18 Rabbit, wearing what is considered women's clothing. If we approach the bloodletting ceremony this way we see that women have a much greater importance to the Maya people that previously thought.
In other societies gender was not as fluid and males and females had distinct categories where it was outlined how they should act and what their responsibilities were. The ancient Minoans and Mycenaeans are one example of a more rigid gender system.
In other societies gender was not as fluid and males and females had distinct categories where it was outlined how they should act and what their responsibilities were. The ancient Minoans and Mycenaeans are one example of a more rigid gender system.
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