gender<ed> thoughts Y. 1/2025 - Beyond a „sack for carrying things“: The Exoticising View of Burrnesha in Hegemonic Science and Film by Anile Tmava
This article examines the representation of Burrnesha in scholarship and film. Burrnesha are individuals living in Albania and surrounding regions who, though born with female anatomy, assume a socially male role. The analysis shows how hegemonic discourses stereotype Burrnesha and exoticise them as symbols of patriarchal backwardness, while their complex identities are often overlooked. Through a critical examination of ethnographic studies, journalistic reports, and the film productions Sworn Virgin and The Albanian Virgin, this article reveals mechanisms of the Western gaze, which essentialises Albanian gender practices and perpetuates hegemonic interpretive authority. In conclusion, the article advocates for a perspective that presents Burrnesha in their own words and recognises cultural diversity without Western projections.
Keywords
Sworn Virgins, Albania, Burrnesha, Queer Exoticism, Exoticizing Gaze, Balkanism, Western Gaze