What does berdache mean?
"Berdache" is a noun that entered European languages through French and was adopted by early anthropologists to describe a recognized social role found in many Indigenous North American cultures: a biologically male individual who lived, dressed, and worked in the manner traditionally assigned to women, often holding respected spiritual and economic functions within the community. Such individuals were not viewed as anomalous but as part of an accepted gender spectrum, sometimes believed to possess special gifts. The word itself has troubling origins — it traces back through French and Arabic to a Persian term meaning a captive or kept youth — and because of this baggage, along with its imposition by outsiders, it has fallen out of favor. Today, many Native American and First Nations people use the self-chosen umbrella term "Two-Spirit" instead, reserving "berdache" chiefly for discussion of older ethnographic texts and historical accounts.
In certain Indigenous North American cultures, a male who adopted the clothing, work, and social role conventionally associated with women, typically occupying an acknowledged third-gender status.
"The ethnographer recorded how the community regarded the berdache with respect rather than stigma."
Now chiefly historical; considered outdated or offensive for contemporary reference, where "Two-Spirit" is preferred.
The institutionalized third-gender role itself, as discussed in anthropological literature.
"Studies of the berdache challenged early-twentieth-century assumptions that Western gender categories were universal."
Regular plural; occasionally also spelled "berdash" or "berdache" unchanged in older sources.
"Several accounts from the fur-trade era mention berdaches living and working alongside trappers."
The word comes from Persian via Arabic and French — literally meaning a 'kept boy' — yet it became the label anthropologists gave to respected third-gender figures in Native American societies, who today prefer their own term, Two-Spirit.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of berdache
The word derives from French "bardache", which came from Spanish "bardaje", ultimately from Arabic "bardaj" meaning a captive or catamite, itself borrowed from Persian "barda" meaning captive or slave. It was applied by French explorers and later anthropologists to men in Indigenous North American societies who took on feminine social roles. Because of these origins and its outsider-imposed nature, the term has largely been replaced by "Two-Spirit" since the early 1990s.
How berdache is actually used
The term is now widely considered dated and potentially offensive when applied to living people or contemporary identities, as it carries colonial and European connotations; many Indigenous people prefer the self-chosen term "Two-Spirit". It survives mainly in historical and anthropological literature discussing earlier scholarship.
Easily confused with berdache
"Berdash" is simply an older English spelling variant of the same word "berdache", not a different word.
A "bard" is a poet or singer, especially one associated with Celtic tradition, whereas a "berdache" referred to a person in an Indigenous North American third-gender role.