Like the Berdache or Two Spirit people of Native American cultures and the Fa’afafine of Polynesia, lesser known traditions of transgender identity exist in Australia’s own indigenous communities.
They call themselves “sistergirls,” though not all dress as women.
The word yimpininni (‘sistergirl’) was used in the Tiwi Islands to describe transgender people. The very existence of the word provides some indication of the inclusive attitudes historically extended towards Indigenous sexual minorities.
“It’s more about how they feel inside,” says Brendan Leishman, an indigenous health promotion worker at Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (QAHC) in Cairns.
The work of sistergirls in indigenous communities complements the work of women, Leishman tells GayNT.
“Sistergirls have specific roles and responsibilities in communities, mainly to do with the raising of children, looking after the home and the elderly, and at feasts and celebrations they’re usually in the thick of it with cooking and decorating.
“It’s usually considered women’s work, but sistergirls are usually valued in these roles for their flair and expertise.”
Though identified by families and communities as sistergirls from an early age, their sexuality is not as easily accepted.
“Most people would rather not know about their sexual behaviours so it remains hidden, and consequently, it can be difficult for sistergirls to have public relationships.
“Usually, their partners are men who identify as heterosexual, and who might also or otherwise have girlfriends or wives.
“Also, people can get tied into the role of a sistergirl. It can be a barrier to do such things as higher education or having relationships because of their need to fulfill their family commitments,” he said.
Though there remains little historical evidence of sistergirls in pre-settlement communities, Leishman says this may be due to the loss of cultural traditions forced by the assimilationist policies of government and church missionaries.
“We try to look for stories wherever we go,” Leishman said of his work. “We always ask people about dreaming stories about gay and sistergirl people, but there isn’t a great deal around any more as cultural traditions have been, not completely lost, but hidden and not spoken about,” he says.
One notable exception, however, was a community in New South Wales in which rock paintings of sistergirls exist to this day, according to Michael Costello, senior policy officer with Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations’ (AFAO) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV/AIDS Project.
“It was well-known in that community and accepted,” Costello says.
In many communities, he says, being a sistergirl is more acceptable than being gay.
“There’s fairly large acceptance across indigenous communities and good knowledge of sistergirls and who they are. It’s far more an unknown in non-indigenous communities.
“While gay men might leave a community or go live on the fringes, though I’m not saying they’re ostracised, sistergirls play a more significant cultural role so there’s greater acceptance and understanding."
He says there is anecdotal evidence to suggest the relative acceptance of sistergirls in some communities has led some young people to become attracted to the life.
“They see sistergirls as role models and so they want to be sistergirls,” Costello said. “That person grows up and may not even be gay, but sees somebody who is accepted in the community.
“There are two sides to it though, as it can also take younger people away from poverty and alcohol and into something different.”
Despite this, self-esteem emerged as a major issue at a 1999 national sistergirl conference.
“Some of the issues we learned about were things like physical and sexual abuse, and certainly self-esteem,” Costello says.
“Identity was a major factor, but self-esteem was something that kept coming up through the whole conference. Young teenagers right through to elders were dealing with self-esteem issues,” he says.
From these findings a campaign was developed; and efforts are ongoing. Every four years, community representatives gather for an Indigenous HIV/AIDS Conference.
“It’s called Anwernekenhe (An-oo-ka-na), which means ‘us mob meeting here in this place’. Those conferences always hold satellite and special forums for sister girls to address issues specific to them to make sure their issues stay on the agenda."
Like the Berdache or Two Spirit people of Native American cultures and the Fa’afafine of Polynesia, lesser known traditions of transgender identity exist in Australia’s own indigenous communities.
“While gay men might leave a community or go live on the fringes, though I’m not saying they’re ostracised, sistergirls play a more significant cultural role so there’s greater acceptance and understanding."
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