Portraits of Albanian Women that Live as Men

Sworn Virgins of Albania (Albanian: burrnesha or virgjinesha) are women who take a vow of chastity and wear male clothing in order to live as men in the patriarchal society of northern Albania. In a photo series and upcoming documentary entitled He/She/He, Jill Peters explains/a>: “Sworn Virgin is the term given to a biological female in the Balkans who has chosen, usually at an early age, to take on the social identity of a man for life.