' (also spelled ') is the contraction of an old Lakota word, ', meaning 'wants to be like a woman'. Historically, the ' have in some cases been considered a social category of male-bodied individuals who adopt the clothing, work, and mannerisms that Lakota culture usually considers feminine. However, in contemporary Lakota culture, ' is usually used to refer to a homosexual man, regardless of whether that man is in other ways gender non-conforming. Contemporary ' may or may not consider themselves part of the more mainstream gay, LGBTQ, or pan-Indian two-spirit communities. Historically, sometimes the direction to adopt the social and spiritual aspects of this role has come in a series of dreams.
While historical accounts of their status vary, most accounts treated the ' as regular members of the community, and not in any way marginalized for their status. Other accounts held the ' as sacred, occupying a liminal, third-gender role in the culture, and born to fulfill ceremonial roles that could not be filled by either men or women. In contemporary Lakota communities, attitudes toward the ' vary from accepting to homophobic.
Sihasapa and Minneconjou Lakotan anthropologist Beatrice Medicine writes: <blockquote>In my childhood, we were aware of this social category, which was referred to as winkte. Linguistic analysis of this Lakota word is: