FACTOID #53: If you thought Antarctica was inhospitable, think again - its land area is only ninety-eight percent ice. Reassuringly, the other 2% is categorised as "barren rock".
A sworn virgin is a virgin who adamantly refuses to ever have sexual intercourse. The term itself can be misleading - "swearing" virginity can be a public or private act, and it does not even have to be a conscious decision (See Unconscious mind). The term itself is used by sworn virgins as a symbol of pride, but can also be used by others in a derogatory fashion.
In some traditionally male-dominant cultures, such as that of Albania, sworn virgin women can take on the male social role. They dress as men, are regarded as male by others, and can take the patriarchial position of head of the household.
External links
Aleksandra Djajic Horváth. A tangle of multiple transgressions: The western gaze and the Tobelija (Balkan sworn-virgin-cross-dressers) in the 19th and 20th centuries. (http://www.anthropologymatters.com/journal/2003-2/horvath2003_tangle.htm)Anthropology Matters Journal 2003-2.
When women become men (http://www.jolique.com/gender/crossing_boundaries.htm)
The Blessed Virgin appeared on Saturday 9 December 1531 to a 55 year old neophyte named Juan Diego, who was hurrying down Tepeyac hill to hear Mass in Mexico City.
The life size figure of the Virgin Mother, just as Juan had described her, was glowing on the tilma.
Sworn evidence was given at various commissions of inquiry corroborating the traditional account of the miraculous origin and influence of the picture.
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