 According to Filipino poet and critic Lilia Quindoza Santiago, Filipino culture may have a more flexible concept of gender; "kasarian" (Tagalog for "gender") is defined in less binary terms than the English word; "kasarian" means "kind, species, or genus".Gender crossing practices go back to the history of pre-colonial communities in the Philippines.The babaylans are typically female spiritual leaders, akin to priests or shamans, in native communities, whose position can also be taken by males who crossed genders, and were called "asog", among many names.