Question

What term was used by nineteenth-century explorers and missionaries to describe native americans who were neither male nor female but somehow both?

a. transsexuals
b. queers
c. berdaches
d. transvestites?

Answer 1

The correct answer is d. In modern times, the term "transvestite" signifies a man who dresses up and/or acts like a woman, or a woman who dress up and/or acts like a man. This term can have very negative connotations. Currently, we use the word "intersex" to describe someone who has both male and female genitalia.