barnsburntdownnow:The Femminiello, 1740–60 (detail)Giuseppe Bonito, Italian 1707–1789Oil on canvas T
barnsburntdownnow:The Femminiello, 1740–60 (detail)Giuseppe Bonito, Italian 1707–1789Oil on canvas This recently discovered painting is a testament to the exceptional social acceptance of cross-dressers known as femminielli in the city of Naples. The term, which might be translated “little female-men,” is not derogatory, but rather an expression of endearment. Rather than being stigmatized, they are deemed special and are accepted as almost a third sex. In spite of Neapolitan acceptance, this is the only known representation of a femminiello before photographs made at the end of the nineteenth century. -- source link
#queer history