Cross-Dressing and Gender Roles in Early Islam

Abstract This article describes the personal appearance of ghulāmiyyāt slave women within the broader context of cross-dressing in medieval Islam. The Abbasid caliph al-ʿAmin’s (d. 813) mother established the phenomenon of the ghulāmiyyāt which saw slave women adopt the appearance of young boys in the hope of enticing the heirless caliph away from his homosexual proclivities. These slave women practiced two interconnected identities: that of women in terms of their sexual identity and a transitory gendered identity as men. Through temporary changes to their appearance, they embodied a liminal and imagined masculine identity that could be easily reverted. This liminal model was activated by adopting unique characteristics concerning personal appearance and, upon removal, they would return to their female presentation. By analyzing this phenomenon, we gain insights into the various roles of personal presentation and the acceptance and legitimization of cross-dressing among female slaves in medieval Islam.