It’s been over a year and a half since I wrote Black Gender Variance: A Two-Head Manifesto. In it I proposed that the term Two-Head be expanded and used by Black gender variant people. As of recently the term has gained a little bit of traction on Twitter. I feel happy that other Black folk resonate with what I wrote, but already the term is being misappropriated. So in this following statement, I want to clear up some things.
Two Head is Not Equal to Non-Binary
From what I’ve seen among folk who resonate with the term, many of us were tired of terms like non-binary to describe our experience. There is nothing wrong with that naturally. That is part of the reason I coined the term. BUT Two-head does not exclusively apply to folks outside the western binary, it also can be applied to people who are within binary genders and are trans.
Two-Head is Two-Head, it is not equal to binary/non-binary identities in the west. Two-Head is at the intersection of our transness, our cultural/spiritual traditions and our Blackness. Two-Headedness is transcending the physical/spiritual realm. Transcending the binary. White people have declared that their language is universal and when we talk about our indigenous terms we try to translate it into how white people have labelled and boxed us in. Two Head has no direct translation into western gender terms . Two-Head is Two-Head.
TWO HEAD IS ROOTED IN SPIRITUAL TRADITION
Two-Head comes from Hoodoo, which is the traditional African Religion in the South (U.S.). Two-Headed Doctors are our practitioners that work with herbs and spirits. The reason I proposed that Two-Head be expanded for Black gender variant people is because of the history of African Traditional Religion practitioners being linked to queerness and transcending human conceptions of gender. Queerness is seen as divine in our practices. If you were a practitioner you either were queer or in touch with these forces.
Therefore, you cannot separate Two-Head from Black spirituality. Two-Head is first and foremost for Black people who revere our ancestors and want to reconnect with our spiritual traditions. It is a spiritual designation not just a nonreligious identity.
NO NON-BLACKS, PERIOD.
My fight in this world is for marginalized Black people.
The one drop rule does not and will never apply here. If you are not undeniably Black you could never be Two-Head. Two-Heads are a reflection of our ancestors. Are you treated as Black? If not, Two-Head is not for you. Two-head is not for the racially ambiguous and non-Black. Two-headedness is also centered around the most marginalized in Blackness. That means if you are not darkskin, visibly queer, transmisogyny affected or other marginalizations you need to take a back seat as well.
TWO-HEADS ARE COMMITTED TO BLACK LIBERATION
A Two-Head person should be committed to dismantling this anti-Black world we live in. Two-Headed doctors led slave rebellions. Two-Heads were pillars of the community. As a cultural worker, being a Two-Head is revolutionary work. It is not just simply a gender identifier. You cannot uphold anti-Blackness and claim to be a Two-Head.
If you are colorist, ableist, transmisogynist, fatphobic (etc.); you are not Two-Head. One mo gain, Two-head is not just an identity you can pick up and put down. Being a Two-Head person is praxis for undoing anti-Blackness and gender colonialism in the long run. If you are Two-Head you center that struggle and you center Blackness in your life. If you feel this is not for you, you do not have to claim the term.
Being a Two-head is revering your ancestors. Being a Two-head is fighting for your community. Being a Two-head is outside of what the west has told us gender was and is supposed to be.
Things That Go Directly AGAINST what Two-Head was Intended for:
- Claiming Two-Head and Two-Spirit
- Dating Non-Blacks/ Having close personal relationships with them
- Celebrity Worship/ Idolizing Non-Blacks
- Upholding colorism, ableism, Transmisogyny, etc.
- Silencing Marginalized Black people
- Liberalism
*This article is a living document, maybe and can be added onto and updated as we find more language to describe ourselves outside of western origin
