SoCal Queer Events

Wednesday, June 19. 7:30pm
Westwood United Methodist Church, 10497 Wilshire Blvd, 90024
Read more on the PFLAG website.

Two Spirit Persons
Transgender Activist Michelle A. Enfield explains the evolution and history of this traditional—and revolutionary—concept

Western Civilization seems to be hung up on binary thinking–happy versus sad, good versus bad, black versus white. And, of course, male versus female.

In other cultures, however, these divisions are not so rigid. Michelle A. Enfield, a transgender woman and an HIV prevention specialist at the Red Circle Project, has experienced both the intolerance of the West and the inclusiveness of Native American cultures.

Born on the Navaho reservation in Fort Defiance Arizona, she is a member of the Navajo Nation. From her earliest years, she felt different, wanting to be a girl and do all the things girls did, although she was anatomically a boy. Teased and tormented at school, she received the support of her family through those difficult years, until as a sophomore in high school, she saw a television talk show program featuring a beautiful transgender woman. Finally, she know who she was. In 1997, she legally changed her name and began hormone replacement therapy.

Why did her family support her? Love is one powerful answer. Traditional Navaho culture is another. Enfield’s family were helped to understand her by the Navaho belief that LGBT persons have important, healing energies. Many Native American cultures share the perception that LGBT persons bring spiritual and practical benefits to their community. At our June meeting, Enfield will describe the history and evolution of these beliefs.

Michelle Enfield is presently an HIV prevention training specialist with the Red Circle Project, an affiliate of AIDS Project Los Angeles. The Red Circle Project (RCP) at AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) is the only HIV Prevention Program in Los Angeles County that specifically provides services to the Native American /Alaska Native Community. RCP provides culturally competent HIV/AIDS resources, referrals; group level interventions for Native Gay/Two Spirit men and Native transgender individuals; and mobile HIV testing to urban Native community at outreach events such as powwows and cultural events.