Three into two: the third sex in Northern Albania

Abstract

From the position of a formal sociology, Georg Simmel argued that the introduction of a third element into a pervasive binary system can serve to mitigate the latter's salience. The instance considered here is that of a third sex in Northern Albania. "Sworn virgins" are generally perceived as women who become men (gender crossing) rather than as an additional engendered category (multiple gender). The overarching significance of the Albanian gender system is thereby barely attenuated, and virgjinesha do not contribute to a less subdominant position for other women.

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