Sworn virgin
Encyclopedia
A sworn virgin is a person who decides to live in the manner of the opposite sex while adamantly refusing ever to have sexual relations with another. The term itself can be misleading — "swearing" virginity can be a public or private act, and it does not even have to be a conscious decision (See Unconscious mind
). The term itself is used by sworn virgins as a symbol of pride, but can also be used by others in a derogatory fashion. National Geographic's Taboo estimated that there are fewer than 102 sworn virgins in the world.
and Montenegro
. Among the highlander groups, a similar, cross-cultural clan-based orientation and highly marked sexual roles have created a situation where there has been a shortage of adult males. One suitable alternative is the sworn virgin (South Slavic
tobelija or tybelí, ostajnica "she who stays" or muskobanja "man-like woman"; Albanian
virgjineshtë), a female-born person who takes on the social (but not sexual) role of a man. They dress, work and live as men, but remain chaste and unmarried.
The origins of the "sworn virgins" are disparate: some choose this role (as early as childhood and as late as just before their marriage ceremony) while others are raised or forced into it by circumstance. These societies have suffered a severe shortage of men due to interclan violence and Ottoman oppression; a clan without a patriarch might choose a female as an ostajnica, or female replacement, who would subsequently take on a male social role.
Unconscious mind
The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...
). The term itself is used by sworn virgins as a symbol of pride, but can also be used by others in a derogatory fashion. National Geographic's Taboo estimated that there are fewer than 102 sworn virgins in the world.
The social role of the "sworn virgin"
The term sworn virgin has come to refer to a traditional social role in the highlands of AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. Among the highlander groups, a similar, cross-cultural clan-based orientation and highly marked sexual roles have created a situation where there has been a shortage of adult males. One suitable alternative is the sworn virgin (South Slavic
South Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...
tobelija or tybelí, ostajnica "she who stays" or muskobanja "man-like woman"; Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
virgjineshtë), a female-born person who takes on the social (but not sexual) role of a man. They dress, work and live as men, but remain chaste and unmarried.
The origins of the "sworn virgins" are disparate: some choose this role (as early as childhood and as late as just before their marriage ceremony) while others are raised or forced into it by circumstance. These societies have suffered a severe shortage of men due to interclan violence and Ottoman oppression; a clan without a patriarch might choose a female as an ostajnica, or female replacement, who would subsequently take on a male social role.
External links
- Aleksandra Djajic Horváth. A tangle of multiple transgressions: The western gaze and the Tobelija (Balkan sworn-virgin-cross-dressers) in the 19th and 20th centuries. Anthropology Matters Journal 2003-2.
- When women become men an article on the Albanian phenomenon
- Washington Post The Sacrifices of Albania's 'Sworn Virgins': A Rockville Filmmaker Tells Of an Old Custom That Both Liberates and Limits Women. By Joshua Zumbrun, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, August 11, 2007; Page C01.