There were few openly gay men in the European colonies of North America at this time, due to legal consequences as well as social ostracism. However, in most tribes a relationship between a two-spirit and non-two-spirit was seen for the most part as neither heterosexual nor homosexual (in modern-day terms) but more hetero-normative partners of two-spirits have not historically viewed themselves as homosexual, and moreover drew a sharp conceptual line between themselves and two-spirits. According to Lang, female assigned at birth two-spirits usually have sexual relations or marriages with only females. Two-spirits might have relationships with people of either sex. According to Will Roscoe, male and female two-spirits have been 'documented in over 130 North America tribes, in every region of the continent'. The presence of male two-spirits existed before European contact, and 'was a fundamental institution among most tribal peoples'. Two-spirit is a modern umbrella term used by some indigenous North Americans for Gender variant individuals in their communities. 5.1 Same-sex marriage and other legal challenges.4.17 1990s: Victories and political power.
