Research and Applied Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Laurence Kirmayer, Anthropology of Psychiatry and Culturally Responsive Mental Health Practice

 

Dr. Laurence Kirmayer

 

Recently there has been a trend towards anthropologists going directly into applied work, identifying any number of problems and seeking solutions to them.  There remains a large number of anthropologists who go into the academy and are researchers, but that does not mean that the research is conducted simply for the sake of learning and gaining new knowledge.  Several researchers conduct their research for the purposes of applying it to resolve specific problems.  This is very much the case for Dr. Laurence J. Kirmayer, a Medical Doctor of Psychiatry and Professor at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

 

Dr. Kirmayer earned his Bachelor of Science from McGill University. He continued his studies at McGill, earning his medical degree in Psychiatry.  He stayed on as a researcher, where his initial research focused on mental health issues among immigrant, refugee, and Indigenous populations.  He was particularly concerned with understanding how and why these populations seek (or choose not to seek) mental health services, their views on mental health, and the effectiveness of cultural consultation services within mental health treatment practices.  These interests required the use of anthropological methods, neuroscience, and language competencies to fully understand the problems faced by these communities and identify and implement real solutions to best serve their needs.  These interests eventually led him to become the Director of the Culture and Mental Health Reseach Unit at the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry for the Jewish General Hospital.  In this position he continues his research on culturally responsive mental health services among local populations across Canada as well as broadly through an understanding of how mental health is understood and pursued cross culturally on a global scale.

 

Ultimately, Dr. Kirmayer has taken what he has learned and applied it to the creation and/or leadership of various organizations.  In 2001 he founded the National Network for Aboriginal Mental Health Research.  This organization, which is a partnership between Aboriginal groups and scholarly researchers seeks to train researchers focused on aboriginal healthcare and prepare Aboriginal individuals within the healthcare fields.  He also founded Cultural Consultation Service, which provides initial mental health assessments and resources to immigrants, refugees, and Aboriginal individuals. 

 

He most recently founded the Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre in 2021.  This is an organization that provides information to patients and their families, politicians, medical professionals, and other interested parties on the best resources and practices for holistic mental health practice and treatment plans.  This organization brings together scholarship, medical practice, social sciences and cultural studies, language competency, and more to provide culturally responsive mental health and other health care services.  Patients can use these services to find mental health and medical practitioners, while medical professionals can access resources (e.g., trainings, professional development sessions, intermediaries, and more) to help incorporate culturally sensitive and responsive practices into their work.  Politicians can also access the wealth of data and information housed by the organization to help inform them on appropriate legislation.

 

Dr. Kirmayer’s work is well recognized.  He is presently a Fellow of several prestigious organizations, including the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the Royal Society of Canada.  In 2024 he was bestowed upon the honor of being a Distinguished James McGill Professor at McGill University.  He also remains active in publishing his research, as well as serving as the editor-in-chief of Transcultural Psychiatry, a journal produced by the World Psychiatric Association.

 

Works Cited

Council of Canadian Academies. "Laurence J. Kirmayer, FRSC, FCAHS ." 16 March 2016. Council of Canadian Academies. Electronic. 11 May 2026.

Kirmayer, Laurence. "Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD." 2026. McGill University, Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry. Electronic. 11 May 2026.

—. "Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FRSC." 2024. Lady Davis Institute. Electronic. 11 May 2026.

—. "Laurence Kirmayer." 2026. McGill University, Department of Psychiatry. Electronic. 11 May 2026.

Celebrated, Not Taboo: The Enarees

Figure 1: Ornate gold belt worn by an individual interpreted as a Enaree (Source: Artacoana, WikiCommons)

 

Archaeological inquiry is very useful in uncovering information and truth about past cultural groups.  This has been the case for some painful cases wherein the truth was purposefully hidden, such as the Tulsa Race Riots and the forensic archaeological work of the Spanish Civil War, as well as in situations wherein there is a limited to no recorded history to consult or interpret (see this post about the Mississippians and this one about transgender individuals in Persian societies).  Understanding the past is very important since it is often used as a sociopolitical tool to promote contemporary agenda, meaning an accurate understanding of the past is all the more important.  Today’s blog supports this notion by exploring the current understanding of a poorly understood group, the Scythians, as it pertains to their social constructions of gender, more specifically related to the Enarees.

 

First, it is important to discuss who the Scythians are and what is currently known about them.  The Scythians were a nomadic group who existed several thousands of years ago.  Their timeline is contemporaneous with the ancient Greeks, who wrote prolifically about the Scythians.  The ancient Greeks did not view the Scythians favorably, so any records about them from the Greek perspective must be considered critically since those records were probably biased against them.  Archaeological evidence has provided additional information concerning their culture, specifically in that they were adept in raising and riding horses, skilled in archery, and proficient in working gold.  Several ornate gold artifacts have been found in the tombs of individuals interpreted to be part of the elite classes among the Scythians. 

 

One group that belonged to this elite class was the Enarees.  The Enarees are cautiously interpreted as transgender women (men who identified as women).  I use the phrase cautiously interpreted because it is unclear how the Scythians viewed and understood gender, meaning the term transgender may not apply.  This is particularly important since the Enarees filled a special and esteemed role within their society: they were shamans/priestesses who held various significant and specialized roles.  Laypeople showed the Enarees great respect, which was recorded by outsiders as almost worship like behavior (e.g., bowing and not looking the Enarees in the eye).  Scythian kings reportedly were cared for, particularly medically, by the Enaree, demonstrating their importance and trust among the ruling class.  Recent archaeological research also shows that at least six individuals who are interpreted as being Enarees were adorned with various gold items, including ornate gold belts and swords.   This evidence, coupled with the Greek writings of Herodotus, seem to point to the Enarees being considered warrior priestesses.  Additional Greek records further claim the Enarees wore women’s clothing (Figure 1), spoke similarly to women, as well as performed women’s work (e.g., weaving). 

 

The specific evidence that suggests that the Enarees may have been what we presently refer to as transgender is twofold: first, the ancient Greeks claimed that the Enarees were the descendants of Scythian raiders who were cursed for their sacking of the Temple of Aphrodite.  These men were made impotent by the goddess, an infliction that was passed down through their lineage.  Ultimately, the ancient Greeks did not view this affliction favorably, which is supported by the contexts to which they speak further about the Enarees.  Also, the archaeological evidence mentioned above was of six burials.  The burial goods were interpreted as feminine but the skeletal remains were scored as males, suggestive of men who occupied women’s gender roles. 

 

Again, it is important to stress that the Scythians may not have viewed these individuals as transgendered individuals.  Since we do not know how the Scythians defined gender it is unfair to place that label on the Enarees.  Ultimately, though, the current evidence does suggest that at least among the Enarees men could and would occupy women’s roles and were celebrated for it.

 

References

Bremmer, J. N. (2016). Shamanism in Classical Scholarship: Where are We Now? In P. (. Jackson, Horizons of Shamanism: A Triangular Approach to the History and Anthropology of Ecstatic Techniques. (pp. 52–78). Stockholm: Stockholm University Press.

do Sameiro Barroso, M. (2020). CASTRATION AMONG THE SCYTHIANS: HERODOTUS AND HIPPOCRATES, TWO PARADIGMS OF INTERPRETATION. Portuguese Medical Association.

Spalding, K. (2026, April 29). Trans Priestesses Who Predated Socrates. IFLScience.

Changing Values, Changing Culture: The Evolution of the Term “Fag Hag”

 

Promotional photo of the television show Will and Grace, a show credited as popularizing gay male and straight female friendships.

Within LGBTQIA+ circles is a distinctive lexicon (vocabulary) that helps individuals navigate their identities and relationships.  This lexicon is a means of helping group members understand who they are (or want to be) and their roles among each other and within their larger community.  It also often acts as a safeguard against outsiders, who may or may not seek to interact in peaceful or friendly ways.  Overtime the lexicon used by LGBTQIA+ individuals has changed, demonstrating changing values within these groups.  One such term that has existed for several decades but undergone a significant transformation is the term “fag hag,” which will be further explored within this post.

 

The term “fag hag” refers to a heterosexual (straight) woman who interacts closely with a homosexual (gay) man or group of men.  The term is often interchangeable with several others, including “swish dish,” “faggotina,” “homo honey,” “flame dame,” or “fairy godmother.”  These terms have not had the same level of popular use or staying power as the term “fag hag,” despite all of the aforementioned terms have a rhyming element, making each catchy and easy to roll off the tongue. 

 

The term “fag hag” joins together two derogatory terms (“fag,” a slur against homosexuals and “hag,” a derogatory term used against women).  This provides the appearance that the term was coined by outsiders (individuals who do not identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ communities) as a means of causing harm against both homosexual (gay) males and heterosexual (straight) females, but this is not the case.  The term was first coined by LGBTQIA+ individuals who were active within the Gay Civil Rights Movement that occurred throughout the 1970s.  Women involved in the Women’s Rights Movement saw their struggle as similar to that of the Gay Rights Movement and sought to partner in their respective fights for rights and privileges.  Gay men, however, did not feel similarly, seeing the struggles as different and seeing little to no advantage in aligning with women in their fight.  It is unclear why specifically this viewpoint was taken, but it ultimately led to the creation of the term “fag hag”.

 

The term “fag hag” immediately took on a negative association since it was created to form a strong barrier between the two groups.  It was meant to serve as a deterrent to straight women who wanted to enter and seek attention in gay male spaces.  The term was associated with women who were stereotyped as ugly, overweight, and desperate for male attention.  Within short order the term also incorporated the idea that straight women were in love with gay men, which led to additional meanings related to the term: either women seeking companionship from gay men in unrequited love relationships or women seeking to convert or “turn” gay men straight.  Together, these ideas formed the standard that kept straight women and gay men distinctly separated, fitting into popular culture ideals concerning sexuality and gender.

 

The meaning of the term “fag hag” began to change, however, as a direct result of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.  During this time gay men were particularly affected, and lesbians (homosexual women) served as the primary caregivers for affected gay men.  Straight women also took on this role.  This broke down some of the self-imposed barriers between gay men and women, making friendships between the two more acceptable.  In the 1990s friendships between gay men and heterosexual women were not only accepted but celebrated.  Popular television shows, such as Will and Grace and Sex and the City, popularized these types of friendships, although the characters often promoted stereotypical ideas about how these relationships existed (e.g., Grace, a straight woman, was in love with her gay male best friend, Will).  Within the same timeframe various notable women comediennes also spoke out about their very positive relationships with gay men.  The most notable was Margaret Cho, who used the term “fag hag” in her stand up routines.  She helped reframe the meaning of the term to a more positive one, specific to straight women who are in deep meaningful friendships with gay men.  She recounted the importance of these friendships not only to herself but to her gay male friends.  This resulted in the evolution of the term “fag hag” to mean a straight woman who was close to gay men without seeking a sexual relationship.

 

Despite the evolution and changing meaning of the term “fag hag” it remains in a liminal (in between) state.  There are gay men, particularly those who were active in the Gay Rights Movement, who still view it as a negative term with its original meaning.  Younger gay men, however, as well as those who have close female friends, view it more favorably.  Ultimately, the history of this phrase and its changing meaning demonstrates how cultural change and shifting values can and does affect language.

 

Works Cited

Fackler, Maria F. and Salvato, Nick. "Fag Hag: A Theory of Effeminate Enthusiasms." Discourse (2012): 59-92. Print.

Luders-Manuel, Shannon. "How The “Fag Hag” Went From Hated to Celebrated ." JSTOR Daily (2017). Electronic.

Moon, Dawne. "Insult and Inclusion: The Term Fag Hag and Gay Male "Community"." Social Forces (1995): 487. Print.

Talbot, Bonnie. "The Epistemology of the 'Fag Hag'." Nipissing University’s Fifth Annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Ed. Laurie Kruk, et al. North Bay, Ontario: Nipissing University, 2012. 280-293. Print.

New Methods for Assessing Sex and Gender Among Ancient Populations

 

Figure 1: Archaeological site where the individual with Turner's syndrome as located (Source: Francis Crick Institute)

There has been much discussion among archaeologists and bioarchaeologists concerning how best to assess sex and gender in ancient populations.  Arguments have been made that it is difficult and unfair to apply modern conceptions of gender on past populations, particularly given the stark differences in time and social structures that existed among past and early human populations.  Approaches utilizing burial goods have most often been used to evaluating gender among ancient populations, but these have come under criticism, resulting in many scholars avoiding the question and area of study all together.  This means that there is a gap in our knowledge concerning sex and gender among early human populations.  Rather than back down from this challenge doctoral student Kakia Anastasiadou, based at the Francis Crick Institute, and scholars at the University of Oxford, University of York, and Oxford Archaeology turned to ancient DNA analyses to help refine the methods and techniques concerning these studies. 

 

In 2024 Anastasiadou and her coauthors published the results of this genetic study in the journal, Communications Biology.  Utilizing genetic data from ancient British populations dating as early as 2500 years ago to more contemporary populations (from 250 years ago) Anastasiadou et al. sought to refine the ancient DNA methods for identifying chromosomal sex.  While there have been various breakthroughs in studying and using ancient DNA there remain some challenges, largely due to the degradation of ancient DNA samples over time and risks of contaminating such samples.  Anastasiadou et al.’s work took these issues into account and identified a workaround that enabled them to better evaluate the ancient DNA samples they studied, enabling them to better identify chromosomal sex among the individuals under study. 

 

Their results were very fruitful.  They made two important discoveries: the earliest case of an individual with Turner’s syndrome (a female who only has one X chromosome instead of two; Figure 1) and the earliest case of an individual with Jacob’s syndrome (a male with an extra Y chromosome).  Both syndromes carry with them specific health risks, but there are no specific means of identifying either of these syndromes via macroscopic/morphological analyses.  This also applies to Kleinfelter’s syndrome (a male with an extra X chromosome), of which they discovered three in their sample. 

 

The team believes this refined ancient DNA method will better enable future scholars to evaluate gender among ancient and early human populations.  This would be completed through a better and more accurate understanding of genetic sex and a comparison of any burial goods or other items found with the deceased.  The team had hoped to complete that with these five individuals, but they were unable to do so due to a lack of burial goods found with any of the individuals.  This was not atypical of their time periods or socioeconomic statuses, though. 

 

References

Anastasiadou, K., Silva, M., Booth, T. et al. Detection of chromosomal aneuploidy in ancient genomes. Commun Biol 7, 14 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05642-z

The Francis Crick Institute. (2024, January 11). First prehistoric person with Turner syndrome identified from ancient DNA. Retrieved from The Francis Crick Institute: https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2024-01-11_first-prehistoric-person-with-turner-syndrome-identified-from-ancient-dna

University of Oxford. (2024, January 11). New technique identifies earliest cases of genetic disorders from ancient DNA. Retrieved from University of Oxford: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-01-11-new-technique-identifies-earliest-cases-genetic-disorders-ancient-dna