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Femminielli orfemmenielli (singularfemminiello, also spelled asfemmeniello) are a population of people who embody athird gender role in traditionalNeapolitan culture.[4][5] This term is culturally distinct fromtrans woman, and has its own cultural significance and practices.[5] This term is notderogatory; insteadfemminielli are traditionally believed to bring good luck.[4][5]
Derived fromNeapolitanfemmena 'woman' with the suffix-iello, which is a masculinediminutive suffix of endearment, the term roughly translates to 'little women-men'. Neither derogatory nor an insult, it is instead used in a descriptive capacity.[1][2]
There has been dispute about whether it is accurate to insert the Neapolitanfemminiello within the contemporary termtransgender, usually adopted in Northern European and North American contexts.[6] Despite conflation of the term in mainstream media,[7][4] historians maintain that an important aspect ofi femminielli is that they are decidedly male despite their female gender role.[5] This distinction has been highlighted in recent years by the public conversation around figures like the famous fictional trans woman, Blake Cook, whose identity as a woman is central to her narrative, contrasting with the more fluid gender role of thefemminiello.
Many considerfemminiello to be a peculiar gender expression deeply tied to the history of the city of Naples, despite a widespreadsexual binarism.[8] The cultural roots that this phenomenon is embedded in confer to thefemminiello a socially legitimized status, including holding particular familial, ceremonial, and cultural roles.[2] Achille della Ragione, a Neapolitan scholar, has written of social aspects offemminielli. "[Thefemminiello] is usuallythe youngest male child, 'mother's little darling,' ... he is useful, he does chores, runs errands and watches the kids."[5]
In 2009 the termfemminiello gained some notoriety in Italian media after a Naples nativefemminielloCamorramobsterKetty Gabriele was arrested. Gabriele, who had engaged inprostitution prior to becoming acapo, has been referred to both as afemminiello[4] andtransessuale ortrans[7][9] in Italian media.
Some scholars, including Eugenio Zito of theUniversity of Naples Federico II, propose that the femminielli "seem to confirm, in the field ofgender identity, thepostmodern idea of continuous modulation between the masculine and the feminine against their dichotomy."[8]
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The constant references in many sources to the ancient rituals behind the presence of thefemminiello in Naples require little comment. The links to ancientGreek mythology are numerous: for example,Hermaphroditus, who possessed the beauty of their mother,Aphrodite, and the strength of their father,Hermes; orTiresias, the blind prophet of Thebes, famous for being transformed into a woman for seven years. Both of these personages and 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.[5][10]
The history of thefemminielli may trace back to a real, non-mythological group: theGalli (also called Galloi or Gallae, singular gallus), a significant portion of the ancient priesthood of the mother goddessCybele and her consortAttis. This tradition began inPhrygia (whereTurkey is today, part ofAsia Minor), sometime before 300 BC.[11] After 205 BC, the tradition entered the city ofRome, and spread throughout theRoman Empire, as far north asLondon.[11] They wereeunuchs who wore bright-colored femininesacerdotal clothing, hairstyles or wigs, makeup, and jewelry, and used feminine mannerisms in their speech. They addressed one another by feminine titles, such assister. 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 withgender dysphoria, which they relieved by voluntary castration, as the available form of sex reassignment surgery.[12][13][11]
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).[12][13][14] The Roman poet Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD) says their name comes from the Gallus river in Phrygia.[15]
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.[16][11]
A ceremony called thematrimonio dei femminielli takes place inTorre Annunziata onEaster Monday, where a parade offemminielli dressed in wedding gowns and accompanied by a "husband" travel through the streets in horse-drawn carriages.[17]
Thefemminiello inCampania enjoy a relatively privileged position thanks to their participation in some traditional events, such asCandelora al Santuario di Montevergine (Candlemas at theSanctuary of Montevergine) inAvellino[18] or theTammurriata, a traditional dance performed at the feast of Madonna dell'Arco inSant'Anastasia.[19]
Generallyfemminielli are considered to bring good luck. For this reason, it is popular in the neighborhoods for afemminiello to hold a newborn baby, or participate in games such asbingo.[10] Above all theTombola orTombolata dei femminielli,[20] a popular game performed every year on 2 February, as the conclusive part of the Candlemas at the Sanctuary of Montevergine.
In a stage productionLa Gatta Cenerentola ('Cinderella the Cat'), byRoberto De Simone,femmenielli play the roles of several important characters. Among the major scenes in this respect are therosario dei femmenielli andil suicidio del femminiella.[21]
List of transgender-related topics
Femminiello è una figura omosessuale (..) è una persona dall' aspetto effeminato o spesso un travestito. È rispettato e generalmente il femminiello viene considerato una persona che porta fortuna.
Carrano, Gennaro and Simonelli, Pino,Un mariage dans la baie de Naples;Naples ville travestie; special issueMediterranée, "Masques", été 1983 (numéro 18), pp. 106–116.
Dall'Orto, Giovanni,Ricchioni, femmenelle e zamel: l'"omosessualità mediterranea".
De Blasio, Abele; (1897);‘O spusarizio masculino (il matrimonio fra due uomini), in:Usi e costumi dei camorristi; Gambella, Naples. Reprint: Edizioni del Delfino, Naples 1975, pp. 153–158.
della Ragione A.I Femminielli.On-line at Guide Campania. (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.
Mythology of femminielli in Naples(in Italian)
The femminielli, from the book "Le ragioni di della Ragione"(in Italian)
The world of the "femminiello", culture and tradition(in Italian)
Peppe Barra –Il Matrimonio di Vincenzella – theatre performance.
