Mukhannath

Mukhannath (مُخَنَّث; plural mukhannathun (مُخَنَّثون); "effeminate ones", "ones who resemble women") was a term used in Classical Arabic and Islamic literature to describe effeminate men or people with ambiguous sexual characteristics, who appeared feminine and functioned sexually or socially in roles typically carried out by women. Mukhannathun, especially those in the city of Medina, are mentioned throughout the ḥadīth literature and in the works of many early Arabic and Muslim writers. The historical role and gender identity of mukhannathun have been interpreted by predominantly Western academics of gender studies, Islamic studies, and social sciences as an ancient antecendent to the concept of transgender women in pre-modern Islamic societies. During the Rashidun era and first half of the Umayyad era, they were strongly associated with music and entertainment. During the Abbasid era, the word itself was used as a descriptor for men employed as dancers, musicians, and/or comedians. In later eras, the term mukhannath was associated with the receptive partner in gay sexual practices, an association that has persisted into the modern day. Khanith is a vernacular Arabic term used in some parts of the Arabian Peninsula to denote the gender role ascribed to males and occasionally intersex people who function sexually, and in some ways socially, as women.