Female-Men? Albanian Sworn Virgins

Female cross dressing has a long history in Europe. Recorded in myths, fairy tales, folk songs, it is not uncommon to stumble upon the story of a woman who dressed in men’s clothing to hide her female identity. No matter her initial motivation, when her ‘true’ gender is revealed, she reverts to femininity or becomes a symbol for corruption (Grémaux, 1994, p. 242). Perhaps this outright rejection of masculine women explains the long-standing and often puzzled fascination that has been recorded around the existence of Albania and Kosova’s Sworn Virgins, women who dress and live as men, and are regarded as men by their communities in turn.

Dill-Mudschia, taken pre-1907

Mainly living in remote, rural areas of the Northern Albania and Kosova, Sworn Virgins are a phenomenon that has been recorded since the early 1800s, although their history stretches back much further (Grémaux, 1994, p. 241). Geographically, economically, and socially isolated, tribes living in the area have long adhered to their own oral laws and traditions, maintaining unique understandings of gender, masculinity, and femininity. Codified in a set of books called the Kanun i Lekë Dukagjini, these traditional customs shape the societal context which allows for the Sworn Virgins’ existence. Dealing with everyday issues such as hospitality, marriage, and property rights, along with more serious regulations of blood feuds, nearly every aspect is gendered (Littlewood, 2002, p. 43). Adhering to a strict male-female dichotomy, the society which the Kanun produces is commonly framed as “patriarchal, patrilocal, exogamous, and patrilineal” (Young, 2000, p. 13). Women cannot participate in a blood feud, inherit property, refuse an arranged marriage, or deny her husband. Usually her main role is confined to child-bearer and homemaker, living with her husband’s tribe and adopting his culture (Whitaker, 1981, p. 148). Upon the death of her husband or sons, she loses both the rights to their property and her own social standing.

At the same time, the Kanun allows for women to adopt masculine identities and take on the responsibilities of being a man. Under certain circumstances, crossing gender identities is not only socially acceptable, but institutionally approved. Previous studies have found two main reasons for transition justified in local law. The first was the rejection of a marriage or betrothal, used to avoid blood-feuds with the families involved. Promising that a woman would never wed, along with the loss of a bridewealth payment, helped reduce the insult to the potential groom’s honour (Whitaker, 1981, p. 151). The other was to inherit property and title when her family lacked a suitable male relative, such as when a family had only daughters, or sons who were incompetent leaders (Young, 2000, p. 11). In some cases, these girls were raised as boys from a young age, usually with encouragement from their fathers, but in others they adopted a masculine persona later in life.

Taking an oath of virginity, promising not to wed or have children, cements the transition into a masculine lifestyle. Sworn Virgins dress in traditionally masculine clothes, have masculine haircuts, and adopt masculine mannerisms. Altering their appearance allows them to transition, both physically and socially, and be regarded as men. These women are now allowed to become head of the household, to work as men, to swear, drink, and smoke, to socialise with men as equals, and perhaps most important, to carry a gun and participate in blood feuds (Littlewood, 2002, p. 45).

Discourse around the Sworn Virgins has traditionally centered around categorizing their gender. Early ethnographic accounts made attempts to sort them into a male-female binary, captivated both by their masculine nature and their feminine biology. In a misunderstanding of the cultural context, writers had a tendency to frame their subjects as women-dressed-as-men, not as a category in their own right. Ernst Schultz, a German military surgeon major who published an essay about Sworn Virgins in 1907, speculated that these women “renounc[e] the greatest happiness – motherhood” because of the harsh conditions they face under the Kanun (Horváth, 2011, p. 368). By conceiving of their virginal oath as forced rather than freely given, Schultz shows his lack of understanding of the local traditions and the Sworn Virgins’ agency. Loss of sexuality (and therefore feminine ideals like marriage and childbirth) was perceived as a tragic sacrifice, despite local customs thinking otherwise. It was impossible to find a report of a Sworn Virgin regretting her decision to transition, but even if they did, sacrifice is rarely negative in their cultures. Instead, it is “honourable and humane” if done for the betterment of family and community (Young, 2000, p. 7).

Contemporary research continues to try placing the gender of Sworn Virgins, albeit with more classifications to choose from. Whether they should be interpreted as third gender, transgender, butch lesbians, or simply women shaped by their context has been brought up and debated, but there appears to be no one answer. Sworn Virgins are diverse and each holds a different interpretation of their gender and masculinity, making it difficult to fit them all into a single category. Some have behaved according to masculine norms all their lives, and others have adopted the mannerism later on. Some speak of themselves using she/hers pronouns while others prefer he/him. There have been cases of maintained chastity, of relationships with men, and even of relationships with women. While outsider interpretations challenge dualistic models of gender, the communities in which the virgins live adhere to a strict binarism and appear to describe them “in terms of male or female attributes: never in terms of anything ‘other’” (Littlewood, 2002, p. 47).

Fascination in masculine men has not faded in Western imaginations. Sworn Virgins continue to be an area of interest for travelers and academics alike, an unusual subversion of gender norms to be observed and recorded. There are many articles and books filled with interviews of surviving virgins, where they speak about their own experiences with gender and Northern Albanian culture. Their personal accounts supplement academic research, creating a better understating of how women participate in masculinity and masculine rites of passage, both historically and today.

References:

Grémaux, R. (1994). Woman Becomes Man in the Balkans. In Herdt, G. (Ed.), Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History (pp. 214-241). New York: Zone Books.

Horváth, A. D. (2011, May). Of Female Chastity and Male Arms: The Balkan "Man-Woman" in the Age of the World Picture. Journal of the History of Sexuality, 20(2), pp. 358-381.

Littlewood, R. (2002, March 1). Three into two: the third sex in Northern Albania. Anthropology & Medicine, 9(1), pp. 37-50.

Whitaker, I. (1981, July). "A Sack for Carrying Things": The Traditional Role of Women in Northern Albanian Society. Anthropological Quarterly, 54(3), pp. 146-156.

Young, A. (2000). Women Who Become Men: Albanian Sworn Virgins. Oxford: Berg.