| Winkte or wíŋkte | |
| Used by | Lakota people |
|---|---|
Winkte (also spelledwíŋkte) is the contraction of an oldLakota word,winyanktehca, meaning 'wants to be like a woman'.[1] Historically, thewinkte have in some cases been considered a social category of male-bodied individuals who adopt the clothing, work, andmannerisms that Lakota culture usually considers feminine.[1] However, in contemporary Lakota culture,winkte is usually used to refer to ahomosexual man, regardless of whether that man is in other waysgender non-conforming. Contemporarywinkte may or may not consider themselves part of the more mainstreamgay,LGBTQ, orpan-Indiantwo-spirit communities.[1] Historically, sometimes the direction to adopt the social and spiritual aspects of this role has come in a series of dreams.[1]
While historical accounts of their status vary, most accounts treated thewinkte as regular members of the community, and not in any way marginalized for their status. Other accounts held thewinkte as sacred, occupying aliminal,third-gender role in the culture, and born to fulfill ceremonial roles that could not be filled by either men or women.[1] In contemporary Lakota communities, attitudes toward thewinkte vary from accepting tohomophobic.[1][2]
Sihasapa andMinneconjou Lakotan anthropologistBeatrice Medicine writes:
In my childhood, we were aware of this social category, which was referred to aswinkte. Linguistic analysis of this Lakota word is:
- win – "woman"
- kte – "to be like"
- kte – "to kill" (a deeper structural form)
- "The common vernacular usage waswinkte "wants to be like a woman."
- We, as children, were instructed, "There are these individuals – in all cases males (wicasa). They are different. They arewinkte. Don't make fun of them. They are also Lakota," said our parents and grandparents.[1]