Arguments in favour of gender identity ideology often include assertions that the sex binary is a “white supremacist colonialist construct” and that ancient/indigenous/colonized cultures acknowledge and recognize “transgender people.” This is generally accompanied by the claim that this proves “transgender people have existed for thousands of years,” followed by throw away citations of the Indian subcontinent’s Hijras, two-spirit people in Native American cultures, the Fa’afafine of Samoa, or the “ladyboys” of Thailand. According to trans activists, these examples demonstrate that sex is a Western/white supremacist construct, that older cultures recognized the authenticity of “transgender people” and that, therefore, categorizing people only as either male or female is wrong and should be junked (along with legal systems built on such identities).
The incoherent ideology of “gender identity” and its attendant legal and social implications should not be forced onto other cultures, certainly not with the effect of harming women and girls.
If anything, it is the Westerncentric notions forced onto other cultures that are “colonial.” Academics, writers, and trans activists might be better off looking at their own ideologies, and seeking coherency in those, rather than altering non-Western cultures and histories to suit their desires and political purposes.
Source: The sex binary is not a ‘Western construct,’ gender identity is