Examining precontact Inuit gender complexity and its discursive potential for LGBTQ2S+ and decolonization movements

Walley, Meghan (2018) Examining precontact Inuit gender complexity and its discursive potential for LGBTQ2S+ and decolonization movements. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (1MB)

Abstract

Anthropological literature and oral testimony assert that Inuit gender did not traditionally fit within a binary framework. Men’s and women’s social roles were not wholly determined by their bodies, there were mediatory roles between masculine and feminine identities, and role-swapping was—and continues to be—widespread. However, archaeologists have largely neglected Inuit gender diversity as an area of research. This thesis has two primary objectives: 1) to explore the potential impacts of presenting queer narratives of the Inuit past through a series of interviews that were conducted with Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning and Two-Spirit (LGBTQ2S+) Inuit and 2) to consider ways in which archaeological materials articulate with and convey a multiplicity of gender expressions specific to pre-contact Inuit identity. This work encourages archaeologists to look beyond categories that have been constructed and naturalized within white settler spheres, and to replace them with ontologically appropriate histories that incorporate a range of Inuit voices.

Actions (login required)

View Item