Gender variance in spirituality: Difference between revisions
→The six genders in classical Judaism: The source cited had a broken link, so I updated the cite to link to an archived version. Added demographics.
imported>TXJ (→The six genders in classical Judaism: Flag from WP Commons) |
imported>Sekhet (→The six genders in classical Judaism: The source cited had a broken link, so I updated the cite to link to an archived version. Added demographics.) |
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===== The six genders in classical Judaism ===== | ===== The six genders in classical Judaism ===== | ||
[[File:Tumtum Pride-Flag.png|thumb|A Tumtum pride flag designed by | [[File:Tumtum Pride-Flag.png|thumb|A Tumtum pride flag designed by Tumblr user tumtum_and_androgynos in 2018 CE. White and blue symbolize Judaism, and gray for genderlessness.]] | ||
Classical Judaism recognizes six categories of sex/gender, instead of | Classical Judaism recognizes six categories of sex/gender, instead of the [[gender binary|male/female gender binary]] from modern Western culture. According to Rabbi Elliot Kukla, these six are:<ref>Robbie Medwed. "More Than Just Male and Female: The Six Genders in Classical Judaism." ''Sojourn'' (blog). June 01, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150714011440/http://www.sojourngsd.org/blog/sixgenders</ref> | ||
* Zachar (זָכָר): This term is derived from the word for a pointy sword and refers to a phallus. It is usually translated as “male” in English. | * Zachar (זָכָר): This term is derived from the word for a pointy sword and refers to a phallus. It is usually translated as “male” in English. | ||
* Nekeivah (נְקֵבָה): This term is derived from the word for a crevice and probably refers to a vaginal opening. It is usually translated as “female” in English. | * Nekeivah (נְקֵבָה): This term is derived from the word for a crevice and probably refers to a vaginal opening. It is usually translated as “female” in English. | ||
* Androgynos (אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס): A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics. 149 references in Mishna and Talmud (1st-8th Centuries CE); 350 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes (2nd -16th Centuries CE). | * Androgynos (אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס): A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics. 149 references in Mishna and Talmud (1st-8th Centuries CE); 350 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes (2nd -16th Centuries CE). | ||
* Tumtum (טֻומְטוּם): A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured. 181 references in Mishna and Talmud; 335 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. | * Tumtum (טֻומְטוּם): A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured. 181 references in Mishna and Talmud; 335 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. In the 2019 Worldwide Gender Census, 5 of the 11,242 respondents called themselves tumtum.<ref name="2019 Gender Census">"Gender Census 2019 - The Worldwide tl;dr." ''Gender Census'' (blog). March 31, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2020. https://gendercensus.com/post/183843963445/gender-census-2019-the-worldwide-tldr Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20200118084451/https://gendercensus.com/post/183843963445/gender-census-2019-the-worldwide-tldr</ref> | ||
* Ay’lonit (איילונית): A person who is identified as “female” at birth but develops “male” characteristics at puberty and is infertile. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud; 40 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. | * Ay’lonit (איילונית): A person who is identified as “female” at birth but develops “male” characteristics at puberty and is infertile. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud; 40 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. In the 2019 Worldwide Gender Census, 2 of the respondents called themselves ay’lonit.<ref name="2019 Gender Census" /> | ||
* Saris (סריס): A person who is identified as “male” at birth but develops “female” characteristics as puberty and/or is lacking a penis. A saris can be “naturally” a saris (saris hamah), or become one through human intervention (saris adam). 156 references in mishna and Talmud; 379 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. | * Saris (סריס): A person who is identified as “male” at birth but develops “female” characteristics as puberty and/or is lacking a penis. A saris can be “naturally” a saris (saris hamah), or become one through human intervention (saris adam). 156 references in mishna and Talmud; 379 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. | ||
The above six categories of gender are important to consider whenever considering gender in classical Jewish texts, rather than | The above six categories of gender are important to consider whenever considering gender in classical Jewish texts, rather than misinterpreting them in terms of the modern Western gender binary. | ||
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