or (singular , also spelled as ''femmeniello'') are a population of people who embody a

third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usuall ...

role in traditional Neapolitan culture It may be hard to define this term within modern Western notions of " gay men" versus "

trans women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...

" since both these categories overlap to a degree in the case of . This term is not derogatory and does not carry a stigma; instead are traditionally believed to bring good luck.

Etymology

The name of this role means 'little women-men'. This is

derived Derive may refer to: * Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments * ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism *Dérive, a psychogeographical concept See also * *Derivation (disambiguatio ...

from

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

''femmena'' 'woman' with the suffix ''-iello'', which is a diminutive term of endearment, with a masculine ''-o'' ending. This is neither derogatory nor an insult.

Gender analysis

It is reductive to insert the Neapolitan ''femminiello'' within the macro-category of transgender usually adopted in Northern European and North American contexts. According to

University of Naples Federico II The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

professor Eugenio Zito, "The alternative identity of femminielli is possible from a transformed, disguised, and transfigured body, a complex phenomenon that could be considered 'endemic', and is peculiarly linked to the territory and the population of the city".Zito, Eugenio. "Disciplinary crossings and methodological contaminations in gender research: a psycho-anthropological survey on Neapolitan femminielli." International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, vol. 7, no. 2, 2013, p. 204+. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com.uaccess.univie.ac.at/apps/doc/A354578053/AONE?u=43wien&sid=AONE&xid=103bdda0. Accessed 23 Oct. 2018. The ''femminiello'', instead, could be considered as a peculiar gender expression, despite a widespread sexual binarism. The cultural roots that this phenomenon is embedded in confer to the ''femminiello'' a cultural and even socially legitimized status. For the historical and symbolic coordinates of Naples, the identity construct of the ''femminiello'' is not superimposable to more common European and euro-centric transgender clusters. In late 2000s many sex scandals have rocked Italy involving high-profile politicians (e.g., former President of Lazio, Piero Marrazzo) and

transgender sex workers A transgender sex worker is a transgender person who works in the sex industry or performs sexual services in exchange for money or other forms of payment. The term transgender refers to an individual whose gender identity differs from their sex ...

often of Latin American descent, who are usually referred to as ''transessuali'' (shortened to ''trans'') in Italian media. In 2009 the term ''femminiello'' gained some notoriety in Italian media after a Naples native ''femminiello'' Camorra

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

Ketty Gabriele Ketty Gabriele (born 10 July 1981 in Naples) is a reputed Camorra figure. Gabriele, a femminiello and member of the Camorra, was reported as the first transgender mafia figure following an arrest by Naples police in February 2009.prostitution prior to becoming a capo. Gabriele has been referred to both as a ''femminiello'' and ''transessuale'' or ''trans'' in Italian media. However, others maintain that ''i femminielli'' are decidedly male despite their female gender role, saying that "they are male; they know it and everyone else knows it." Achille della Ragione has written of social aspects of ''femminielli''. " he ''femminiello''is usually the youngest male child, 'mother's little darling,' ... he is useful, he does chores, runs errands and watches the kids." Zito proposes in his study that the femminielli "seem to confirm, in the field of

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...

, the postmodern idea of continuous modulation between the masculine and the feminine against their dichotomy."

History

Print made by Francesco Bartolozzi after Giovanni Battista Cipriani, 1770

The constant references in many sources to the ancient rituals behind the presence of the ''femminiello'' in Naples require little comment. The links to ancient

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

are numerous: for example, Hermaphroditus, who possessed the beauty of the mother,

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

, and the strength of the father,

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...

; or

Tiresias In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; grc, Τειρεσίας, Teiresías) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nym ...

, the blind prophet of Thebes, famous for being transformed into a woman for seven years. Both of these personages and, indeed, others in many cultures in the world are presumed to possess something that others do not: the wise equilibrium that comes from knowing both worlds, masculine and feminine. The history of the ''femminielli'' may trace back to a real, non-mythological group: the

Galli A ''gallus'' (pl. ''galli'') was a eunuch priest of the Phrygian goddess Cybele (Magna Mater in Rome) and her consort Attis, whose worship was incorporated into the state religious practices of ancient Rome. Origins Cybele's cult may have ori ...

(also called Galloi or Gallae, singular gallus), a significant portion of the ancient priesthood of the mother goddess

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian language, Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian language, Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother godde ...

and her consort

Attis Attis (; grc-gre, Ἄττις, also , , ) was the consort of Cybele, in Phrygian and Greek mythology. His priests were eunuchs, the ''Galli'', as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis castrating himself. Attis was also a Phrygian v ...

. This tradition began in Phrygia (where

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

is today, part of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

), sometime before 300 BC. After 205 BC, the tradition entered the city of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and spread throughout the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

, as far north as

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. They were eunuchs who wore bright-colored feminine

sacerdotal Sacerdotalism (from Latin ''sacerdos'', priest, literally one who presents sacred offerings, ''sacer'', sacred, and ''dare'', to give) is the belief in some Christian churches that priests are meant to be mediators between God and humankind. The und ...

clothing, hairstyles or wigs, makeup, and jewelry, and used feminine mannerisms in their speech. They addressed one another by feminine titles, such as

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

. There were other priests and priestesses of Cybele who were not eunuchs, so it would not have been necessary to become a gallus or eunuch in order to become a priest of Cybele. The Gallae were not ascetic but hedonistic, so castration was not about stopping sexual desires. Some Gallae would marry men, and others would marry women. The ways of the Gallae were more consistent with transgender people with gender dysphoria, which they relieved by voluntary castration, as the available form of sex reassignment surgery.Raven Kaldera. ''Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook.'' Hubbardston, Massachusetts: Asphodel Press, 2008. P. 174-179. Contemporaries who were not Gallae called them by masculine words, Galloi or Galli (plural), or Gallus (singular). Some historians interpret the Gallae as transgender, by modern terms, and think they would have called themselves by the feminine Gallae (plural) and Galla (singular).Laura Anne Seabrook, "About this comic." ''Tales of the Gallae.'' http://totg-mirror.thecomicseries.com/about/ The Roman poet Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD) says their name comes from the Gallus river in Phrygia; Phrygians and Romans believed the Gallae had spiritual powers to tell the future, bless homes, have power over wild animals, bring rain, and exorcise evil spirits. The Roman public viewed them with a mixture of awe and contempt, seeing them as practicing shocking foreign customs, so they were just as often honored as they were harassed and politically persecuted. They were not allowed to be Roman citizens, and vice versa.Maarten J. Vermaseren, ''Cybele and Attis: the myth and the cult'', translated by A. M. H. Lemmers, London: Thames and Hudson, 1977, p.97.

Ceremony

A ceremony called the ''matrimonio dei femminielli'' takes place in

Torre Annunziata Torre Annunziata (; nap, Torr'Annunziata) is a city and commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, region of Campania in Italy. It is located on the Gulf of Naples at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. History The city was destroyed in the Vesuvius ...

on Easter Monday, a parade of ''femminielli'' dressed in wedding gowns and accompanied by a "husband" travel through the streets in horse-drawn carriages.

Tradition

The ''femminiello'' in

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

enjoy a relatively privileged position thanks to their participation in some traditional events, such as ''Candelora al Santuario di Montevergine'' ( Candlemas at the Sanctuary of

Montevergine 250px, The Sanctuary of Montevergine. The Montevergine, also known as Partenio or Monti di Avella, is a limestone massif in Campania, central Italy, part of the Apennine chain. It is located near Avellino, in the ''comune'' of Mercogliano. It h ...

) in Avellino or the ''Tammurriata'', a traditional dance performed at the feast of Madonna dell'Arco in

Sant'Anastasia Sant'Anastasia ( nap, Santa Nastàsë) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples. Sant'Anastasia borders the following municipalities: Casalnuovo di Napoli ...

. Generally ''femminielli'' are considered to bring good luck. For this reason, it is popular in the neighborhoods for a ''femminiello'' to hold a newborn baby, or participate in games such as

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

. Above all the Tombola or ''Tombolata dei femminielli'', a popular game performed every year on the 2nd of February, as the conclusive part of the Candlemas at the Sanctuary of Montevergine.

Theatre

In a stage production called ' ('The Cat Cinderella'), by , ''femmenielli'' play the roles of several important characters. Among the major scenes in this respect are the ''rosario dei femmenielli'' and ''il suicidio del femminiella''.

Notes

References

* Carrano, Gennaro and Simonelli, Pino, ''Un mariage dans la baie de Naples''; ''Naples ville travestie''; special issue ''Mediterranée'', "Masques", été 1983 (numéro 18), pp. 106–116. * Dall'Orto, Giovanni
''Ricchioni, femmenelle e zamel: l'"omosessualità mediterranea"
'. * De Blasio, Abele; (1897)

in: ''Usi e costumi dei camorristi''; Gambella, Naples. Reprint: Edizioni del Delfino, Naples 1975, pp. 153-158. * della Ragione A. ''I Femminielli''

(retrieved: Nov. 12, 2009) * Malaparte, Curzio. ''La Pelle''. Vallechi editore. Florence. 1961 * Eugenio Zito, Paolo Valerio, ''Corpi sull'uscio, identità possibili. Il fenomeno dei femminielli a Napoli'', Filema, 2010 * Zito, Eugenio. "Disciplinary crossings and methodological contaminations in gender research: a psycho-anthropological survey on Neapolitan femminielli." International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, vol. 7, no. 2, 2013, p. 204+. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com.uaccess.univie.ac.at/apps/doc/A354578053/AONE?u=43wien&sid=AONE&xid=103bdda0. Accessed 23 Oct. 2018.

External links

*
Mythology of femminielli in Naples
*

*
The world of the "femminiello", culture and tradition
* Videoclip
Peppe Barra - Il Matrimonio di Vincenzella
- theatre performance. {{Sexual identities Effeminacy Femininity Gender in Italy Gender systems Third gender Culture in Naples