One important thing to clarify: by transgender, I essentially mean gender atypical characteristics that’s outside of culture and identity. This kind of nomenclature isn’t limited to the West. Societies that use the terms two-spirited, hirja, or kathoey, despite cultural differences, all talk about individuals that share gender atypical traits.

Because of the way we construct gender as being based on traits, gender ends up being looked upon as being much more static. In other cultures — and it appear to me that some African cultures apply here — gender is much more dynamic, and in some cases perhaps even situational.

There’s no doubt that there are societies with a more complete understanding of gender orientation than the modern West. And I doubt that Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were in a situational relationship. Cultural and social constraints are irrelevant concerning a person’s real gender or sexual orientation.

Our L/G/B/T boxes generally don’t account for that, but it does not mean that it is any less valid of an experience.

Live I’ve stated, this has nothing to do with identities. They aren’t used in the natural sciences, yet we still see gender atypical behaviors, brains and genitalia in nature that we can explain them in terms of genetics and hormones. You may or may not balk at this kind of reductionism, but it’s how the scientific world progresses and it gives us a better understanding of natural phenomena.

But most importantly, and I cannt emphasize this enought, Tiwonge hasn’t declared whether he or she is gay or transgender. And this is precisely why I’ve avoided using BOTH terms to describe Tiwonge.

Yet we know that Tiwonge obviously displays gender atypical traits.