Khanith (also spelled Khaneeth or referred to as Xanith; ) denotes a person

assigned male at birth Sex assignment (also known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the baby's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the v ...

who occupies an intermediate "

third gender Third gender or third sex is an identity recognizing individuals categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither a man nor a woman. Many gender systems around the world include three or more genders, deriving the concept either from ...

" between

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

and

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

. Their

mannerisms In human behavior, a mannerism is a peculiar, distinctive habit of a person. In particular, the term refers to an affected or exaggerated speech or actions. Often mannerisms are subtle and subconscious. They may be expressed in body language, ...

and behaviors fall between the

socially constructed Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

roles for

men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

and

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

Dress

Khanith individuals wear clothing that blends elements of both traditional men's and women's styles. They typically wear the ankle-length tunic associated with men, but cinch it tightly around their waist in a manner more typical of women’s fashion. While men usually dress in plain white garments and women in brightly colored, patterned attire, khanith opt for unpatterned, colored clothing. Hairstyles also reflect this blend. Where men keep their hair short, women wear it long, and khanith maintain it at a medium length. Men tend to comb their hair straight back, women style it diagonally from a center parting, whereas khanith comb theirs forward from a side parting and oil it similarly to women.

Rights and social liberties

As khanith individuals are

, maintain their

male genitalia Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to a ...

, and have masculine names that are used with masculine grammatical gender forms, khanith individuals have all the same

rights Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

as a man under

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

. They are allowed to worship in

mosques A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple p ...

with men, and can move freely outside of their homes. However, because khanith are not considered men socially, they are not allowed to sit down in public or play instruments that are associated with men. Further, in Omani society, men and women are strictly segregated and women are secluded under

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of sex segregation prevalent among some Muslim, Zoroastrian and Hindu communities. The purdah garment is the same as a burqa, or yashmak, i.e a veil ...

. As khanith is an intermediate gender, with their appearance judged by feminine beauty standards, they are classed with women in many social aspects. They are allowed to visit women and walk with them in the street, unlike men. They also perform tasks culturally associated with women such as cooking and housekeeping. Additionally, during festive occasions, khanith participate alongside women in singing and dancing. They may also serve as matchmakers, facilitating connections between men and women. Notably, they hold a unique cultural role: only khanith, never other men, are permitted to see a bride’s face on her wedding night.

Sexual intercourse

In Oman, one of the key distinctions between men and women lies in the sexual roles they are expected to play. Men are seen as active, penetrative participants in

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

, while women, and khanith, are regarded as passive recipients. Because khanith do not embody the active sexual role, they are not considered men within this cultural framework. At the heart of this distinction is a societal definition of

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...

that centers on sexual potency, particularly as demonstrated through marriage. A man’s status is validated not only by his ability to marry, but by publicly proving his sexual performance. On the morning after a wedding, this is typically confirmed by displaying a blood-stained handkerchief, indicating the bride’s

virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...

has been taken. This act serves as a public testament to the groom’s potency and confirms his identity as a man. However, this definition also allows khanith individuals to become a man socially. A khanith can be recognized as a man if he marries and fulfills the same expectations. Should he successfully

consummate The consummation of a marriage, or simply consummation, is the first officially credited act of sexual intercourse following marriage. In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the definition usually refers to penile–vaginal p ...

the marriage and provide the expected proof of his sexual role as penetrator, he is then reclassified as a man. In this context, masculinity is defined not by gender identity or expression, but primarily through penetrative sexual performance.

Westernization

Much of the early scholarly work on khanith identity was done by professor

Unni Wikan Unni Wikan (born 18 November 1944) is professor of social anthropology at the University of Oslo, Norway. She has served as visiting professor at the University of Chicago (2011); Harvard University (1999–2000); Goethe University, Frankfurt (20 ...

in her seminal work ''Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman.'' This text was one of the first to identify khanith individuals, or xanith as Wikan referenced them, as legitimate third-gendered persons within Omani society. However, despite this important research, many of the methodologies used to study and contextualize khanith were within a western framework.

Transsexualism A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (incl ...

and

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

were used to contextualize khanith individuals, however both of these terms impose a strict binary on sexual and gender preference that is predominately Western. As khanith does not fall within a binary as an social construction, these terms are epistemologically damaging to the study of khanith as a whole.

Etymology

The term stems from the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, primarily in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. It contains the same root as "

mukhannathun Mukhannath (; plural ''mukhannathun'' (); "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 ...

" (), meaning "effeminate".

Bibliography

References

Gender systems Third gender Transgender topics in the Middle East Arabic words and phrases Gender in Oman LGBTQ in the Arab world LGBTQ in the Middle East LGBTQ-related slurs {{LGBTQ-stub