or (singular , also spelled as femmeniello) are a population of people who embody a third gender role in traditional Neapolitan culture. It may be hard to define this term within modern Western notions of "gay men" versus "trans women" 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 from Neapolitan 'woman' with the suffix , which is a diminutive term of endearment, with a masculine ending. This is neither derogatory nor an insult.
Gender analysis
It is reductive to insert the Neapolitan within the macro-category of "transgender" usually adopted in Northern European and North American contexts. According to University of Naples Federico II 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". The , 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 a cultural and even socially legitimized status. For the historical and symbolic coordinates of Naples, the identity construct of the 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 often of Latin American descent, who are usually referred to as transessuali (shortened to trans) in Italian media. In 2009 the term gained some notoriety in Italian media after a Naples native Camorra mobster Ketty Gabriele was arrested. Gabriele had engaged in prostitution prior to becoming a capo. Gabriele has been referred to both as a 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. "[The ] 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, the postmodern idea of continuous modulation between the masculine and the feminine against their dichotomy."
History
The constant references in many sources to the ancient rituals behind the presence of the in Naples require little comment. The links to ancient Greek mythology are numerous: for example, Hermaphroditus, who possessed the beauty of their mother, Aphrodite, and the strength of their father, Hermes; or Tiresias, 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.
The history of the femminielli may trace back to a real, non-mythological group: the Galli (also called Galloi or Gallae, singular gallus), a significant portion of the ancient priesthood of the mother goddess Cybele and her consort Attis. This tradition began in Phrygia (where Turkey is today, part of Asia Minor), sometime before 300 BC. After 205 BC, the tradition entered the city of Rome, and spread throughout the Roman Empire, as far north as London. They were eunuchs who wore bright-colored feminine sacerdotal clothing, hairstyles or wigs, makeup, and jewelry, and used feminine mannerisms in their speech. They addressed one another by feminine titles, such as sister. 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.
