The "Sworn Virgins" of Albania

 

A while back, I watched this documentary about the burrneshat (“sworn virgins”) of Albania. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in FTM transsexuality, not just because it is an intriguing look into Albanian history. Essentially, the documentary disproves the notion that FTM transsexuality is always an inborn phenomenon. The footage supports feminist theory and social contagion theory, as it demonstrates how females can be conditioned into transgender identity by male-dominated culture.

At a glance, a person looking at the burrneshat might assume that they are butch lesbians. In reality, the phenomenon is unrelated to lesbianism. At 31:26, one of the interviewees (Sanie Vatoci) describes her attraction to men, where she admits to having some regrets about becoming a “sworn virgin”:
 
"It's never been hard for me to stay a virgin, though. But - while looking at other couples, reading books, watching movies - I began to wonder: why don't I have a partner? Why am I acting like a man? There must have been a man out there for me! But I couldn't tell anyone. And it was so tough for me: I had nobody to talk about it until my little sister got older. It felt good talking to her but it was too late. The shame of it! …that's why I kept on acting like a man. I feared what people would say if I suddenly changed and got married.”

Nor does the theory of Autoandrophilia explain this. In fact, the “sworn virgins” have nothing to do with sexuality, and everything to do with cultural pressures. Similar commentary can be made on other cultures found across the developing world, including the calalai of Indonesia, although homosexuality is often involved.

The typical “sworn virgin” has no interest in lesbianism, as described in this interview:

“Both these sworn virgins firmly reject homosexuality. With Mdm Rakipi saying it is “not moral”. 

“Two men and two women getting married, that is the end of the world,” she added.”

That being said, I was able to find one source that described homosexual attractions amongst the burrneshat.

“Sexual tendencies towards females seem to be present in the cases of Mikas (p. 149, above) and Stana (p. 155, above), albeit in a rather restrained and repressed way. Of liaisons with females, however, I found no trace whatsoever. Yet cohabitation of masculine sworn virgins with female partners is not completely unknown. I know of three such couples; for two of which a sexual relationship is actually indicated. At least two out of these three couples were bound by ‘blood-sisterhood’, a kind of ritual or spiritual kinship which, however, does not usually include living together. According to Tatomir Vukanovic, sworn virgins were in some places quite ill-reputed for ‘ certain abnormal sexual rela­tions’ with their blood-sisters.” (Grémaux, 2014)

The complete text provides descriptions of Mikas and Stana. Grémaux also provides a description of the lesbian couple are Shefkije and Ruke, and another unnamed butch/femme lesbian couple from northern Montenegro. The third “couple”, Djurdja and Cure, may or may not have been sexual. Where Shefkije is described as a “sworn virgin” and Ruke is described as “feminine-looking”, both Djurdja and Cure are described as “sworn virgins”.

References

1. Grémaux, R. (2014). Mannish women of the Balkan mountains: Preliminary notes on the ‘sworn virgins’ in male disguise, with special reference to their sexuality and gender-identity. In From Sappho to De Sade (Routledge Revivals) (pp. 143-172). Routledge.

Addendum

Immediately after describing the lesbian couples, Grémaux leaves an interesting comment:

In discussing this kind of relationship it is hard to disregard a tradition from Bosnia-Herzegovina published towards the end of the last century by Ivan (Johann) Zovko. Among the heroines (Amazons) reviewed by this author are a kind called muskobaraca’s, according to him meaning approximately ‘mannish women’ (German: Mannweiber). In translation the German text offers the following description of these women (italics added):37

They fight like males and are crazy about doing everything in the way males do. Unfortunately our Lord has created them as women! They dress themselves like males, talk like males; in brief, do everything like males. Several muskobaraca’s are even claimed to have fallen in love with other girls and married them, but are said to have treated them roughly, as if God hadn’t created them for that purpose. They hate every woman’s adornment as the devil hates the baptized soul.

The original Serbo-Croat text, however, indicates that these marriages were brought about by deception;38 the brides were apparently under the illusion that the grooms were of the male sex.

The bolded description is from the 1890s. If it is to be believed, it suggests there is a connection between FTM transsexuality, homosexuality, and domestic violence (sadism?).

For those interested in researching this further:

37. Johann Zovko, ‘Ursprungsgeschichten und andere Volksmeinungen’ , Wissenschaftliche Mittheilungen aus Bosnien und der Hercegovina, Sarajevo/Vienna, 1893, 1 (426-44): 444.

38. Ivan Zovko, ‘Junakinje’ , Glasnik zemaljkog muzeja u Bosni i Hercegovina, Sarajevo/Vienna, 1892, 6, 1: (269-70) 270.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is "Nonbinary" all Nonsense?

  Is “Nonbinary” all Nonsense? After Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble , I discovered the origins of “nonbinary” identity: “Although Foucault's genealogical critique of foundationalism has guided this reading of Levi-Strauss, Freud, and the heterosexual matrix, an even more precise understanding is needed of how the juridical law of psychoanalysis, repression, produces and proliferates the genders it seeks to control. Feminist theorists have been drawn to the psychoanalytic account of sexual difference in part because the Oedipal and pre-Oedipal dynamics appear to offer a way to trace the primary construction of gender. Can the prohibition against incest that proscribes and sanctions hierarchial and binary gendered positions be reconceived as a productive power that inadvertently generates several cultural configurations of gender? Is the incest taboo subject to the critique of the repressive hypothesis that Foucault provides? What would a feminist deployment of that critique look li...
Read more

Commentary on "A Life History Approach to the Female Sexual Orientation Spectrum"

Image
This blogpost was written prior to having read Severi Luoto's more recent papers, where he updates his position on the female sexual orientation spectrum. Rather than reading this blogpost, I recommend reading my Commentary on Luoto & Rantala's (2022) "Female Bisexuality" . There isn't much value in reading this blogpost on its own, but I leave it here for reference. Recently, I reviewed Luoto et al.'s (2019) " A life history approach to the female sexual orientation spectrum: Evolution, development, causal mechanisms, and health ." The authors propose an evolutionary basis for the "various phenotypes in the female sexual orientation spectrum," arguing that female nonheterosexuality emerges as a result of hormonally-mediated Fast Life History strategy and other  ultimate -level explanations. Throughout the article, the authors emphasize the existence of different  phenotypes  of female nonheterosexuality, as described in the graphic sho...
Read more

"Navel Gays" is Wrong about Autoandrophilia

Image
Years ago, I took an interest in the subject of autosexuality. Autosexuality is a poorly understood topic that is vital to understanding the causes of Gender Dysphoria in natal males, where it manifests as “autogynephilia”. When it comes to Autogynephilia, the “Big Three” books to read are Michael Bailey’s The Man Who Would Be Queen , Anne Lawrence’s Men Trapped in Men’s Bodies , and Phil Ily’s Autoheterosexual.  In the years since publishing Autoheterosexual , the author Phil Ily has cultivated a community of self-aware autogynephiles, including the full range of transvestites, transsexuals, and detransitioners. I no longer have the same interest in autogynephilia that I once had, but I recommend seeking out this community if you are interested in learning more about it.  When it comes to natal females, two of the most important internet figures were/are the detransitioner Laura Reynolds and Aaron Terrell, a trans man who self-identifies as autoandrophilic. Aaron is co-ho...
Read more