the 6 Jewish genders
Since it’s Rosh Hashanah, I figured now would be as good a time as any to talk about the 6 culturally-specific Jewish gender identities.
Zachar/זָכָר: This term is derived from the word for a pointy sword and refers to a phallus. It is usually translated as “male” in English. (Western counterpart: cisgender man)
Nekeivah/נְקֵבָה: This term is derived from the word for a crevice and probably refers to a vaginal opening. It is usually translated as “female” in English. (Western counterpart: cisgender woman)
Androgynos/אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס: A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics. (Western counterparts: intersex person, nonbinary person, genderfluid person, bigender person)
Ay’lonit/איילונית: A person who is identified as “female” at birth but develops “male” characteristics at puberty and is infertile. (Western counterpart: transgender man)
Saris/סריס: A person who is identified as “male” at birth but develops “female” characteristics as puberty and/or is lacking a penis. A saris can be “naturally” a saris (saris hamah), or become one through human intervention (saris adam). (Saris hamah western counterpart: intersex?) / (Saris adam western counterpart: transgender woman)
Tumtum/טֻומְטוּם: A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured. (Western counterparts: nonbinary person, agender person, intersex person)
In my opinion, any Jewish person can claim at least one of the above gender identities, regardless of if they are ethnically Jewish or a convert.
Read more about the etymology behind Jewish cultural gender identities here, and more about the terminology here.
