The Transitions in the Concept of Mukhannath in the Pre-Modern Arab-Islamic Society

A Study of Discourse about ʿAbbāda al-Mukhannath

Abstract

This paper clarifies how feminine behavior, which was regarded as an “act” in premodern Arab-Islamic society, has changed and become associated with sexual orientation as an innate “nature.” It focuses on the discourse on ʿAbbāda al-Mukhannath, who is said to have been a prominent boon companion in the Abbasid court in the ninth century, in order to discuss transitions in the understanding of the word “mukhannath” from the ninth to fifteenth centuries. By looking at descriptions of ʿAbbāda, which continued to be made generations later, not only as conveying information about him but also as discourses that reflect the image of mukhannath in each era, the changing perceptions of the mukhannath over time can be observed.

The analysis reveals the following three points. First, in depictions of ʿAbbāda by authors who died before the twelfth century, the accounts are to be found mostly in collections of anecdotes. These anecdotes focused on his behavior as mukhannath, describing his insolence and witty responses. Second, there is general agreement that in about the eleventh century, anecdotes were combined with foreign knowledge and reinterpreted in collections of anecdotes presented as a more systematic and practical knowledge. In response, an understanding, supported by foreign medical knowledge, that those who engage in sexual activity on the passive side are essentially of that nature was given to ʿAbbāda al-Mukhannath. Third, in depictions of ʿAbbāda by authors who died after the thirteenth century, the accounts appeared mainly in biographies and chronicles. In this process, the concept of a mukhannath and the trickster character assigned to ʿAbbāda formed in the anecdotes were incorporated as historical facts. This allowed the depiction of ʿAbbāda in the anecdotes to be understood as a property derived from his identity as a mukhannath.