sworn virgin

English

Noun

sworn virgin (plural sworn virgins)

1. A person, assigned female at birth, who adopts a traditional masculine third-gender or transmasculine role in the Balkans, wearing masculine clothing and performing masculine tasks, and traditionally swearing a vow of chastity.
   • 2012, Andreas Hemming, Gentiana Kera, Enriketa Pandelejmoni, Albania: Family, Society and Culture in the 20th Century, →ISBN, page 172:

     Anila, who prefers to be called Rrok (a male name) […] displays a significant number of the attributes of the more traditional sworn virgins: male attire, short hair, assertive male gestures and a self-confident stride, but his reason for assuming the role is not traditional. […] He explains that it not only gives him freedom to wander around the village; [...]

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see sworn,‎ virgin.

Translations

person who has a masculine third-gender role in the Balkans

• Albanian: burrneshë (sq), virgjineshë, virgjëreshë (sq), virgjna
• German: geschworene Jungfrau f, Schwurjungfrau f (rare)
• Italian: vergine giurata f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: тобѐлија, мушко̀бања, вирџина, остајница; цура (Kuči)

  Roman: tobèlija (sh), muškòbanja (sh), virdžina, ostajnica; cȕra (sh) (Kuči)

See also

• two-spirit, transgender, non-binary/genderqueer