From “two-spirit” Native American peoples to fundamentalist Christians, Americans' views and acceptance of sexuality shows a nation that cannot take a stand decision. The status quo regarding ideas of gender identity and roles has changed significantly many times. For many, the opinions of the masses influenced their daily lives in every aspect, from the clothes they wore, to the families they lived in, to the life paths they followed. Native Americans with Pre-European Influence Many Native American tribes were matrilineal. In many North American societies, clan membership and material goods were derived from women. This demonstrated a rather different view of family structure among Europeans of the time. Clan matrons selected men to serve as their leaders and deposed leaders with whom they were dissatisfied. Women were also sometimes allowed to inherit tribal leadership positions. Since the jobs of both sexes were considered equally important, both sexes respected each other. The everyday contributions of Native women were recognized by Native men and the tribe as a whole as vital to the prosperity of the community and worthy of respect. Traditionally, women were given great respect for their role in childbirth, and coming of age with menstruation was an important event. At least forty Native American cultures practiced sororal polygyny. This was partly due to the fact that, in most cases, the number of women exceeded that of men due to hunting accidents or war casualties. Women's roles when it came to marriage and courtship varied drastically between tribes. For example, in Sioux culture the father arranged the marriage of his daughters without any input from them, with social or political motivations. The girls would be mar...... middle of paper......rape. (Marital Rape the Legislative Battle) It continues to be one of the most under-reported crimes due to its very personal nature and lengthy legal reporting process. In the 1980s, feminists also denounced rape as a crime that was not exclusively heterosexual. Major changes on this front weren't made until 2011, when the FBI revised its definition of rape, now published in Uniform Crime Reports; the FBI now includes any form of forcible sexual penetration of a man or woman, as well as “non-forcible rape.” Obviously a lot has changed over the course of several hundred years regarding sexuality and gender roles, and will continue to evolve. Each generation has been different from the previous one, with sometimes large and sometimes tiny differences. Sexuality and gender roles impact daily life as much as religion, dietary needs and economic systems.