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‘Ignorant’ to claim there are only two genders, Ottawa professor says

A Canadian professor whose “gender identity” is “tasta-eeyinew” says President Donald Trump is “ignorant” for stating there are only two sexes.

Carleton University Professor Benny Michaud (pictured) made the comment to the CBC in an article about an executive order that Trump signed on his first day in office.

The order makes it “the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.” It also recognizes that “[t]hese sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”

Michaud, however, disagreed.

The director of the Centre for Indigenous Initiatives at the Ottawa university, Michaud identifies as “non-binary,” or the “tasta-eeyinew” “gender identity,” according to the university.

Tasta-eeyinew is a Cree term that “loosely translates into ‘a person in between.’ In English, the terms they tend to use are two-spirit or non-binary,” according to the university.

Speaking with CBC, Michaud said it is “‘ignorant’ to claim there are only two genders.”

“There have always been LGBTQIA+ people, and it’s such a disservice to Canadians for that not to be acknowledged by somebody that is vying for the highest position of leadership within the country,” the professor said.

Michaud said Trump’s order represents a “staggering” regression, because transgender advocates thought they were making progress toward greater understanding and acceptance in society.

The interview continues:

Different Indigenous groups have had their own terms for various sexualities and genders beyond man and woman for generations. In the 1990s, the term two-spirit was coined in Canada to serve as an umbrella term for those queer Indigenous terms. …

It was only when European colonizers arrived that the idea of two genders was imposed on Indigenous people, Michaud said.

“They utilized gender as a way to colonize our communities,” Michaud said, first by diminishing the voices of women, and second by “vilifying people whose genders were not man or woman.”

“For hundreds of years in our communities, we were not able to express ourselves in the way that we had been able to before.”

On Wednesday, Trump signed another executive order that bans men from women’s sports and revokes taxpayer funding from institutions that refuse to comply, The College Fix reported.

MORE: Trump considers executive order to abolish the education department: reports

IMAGE: Métis Nation of Ontario/X

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