Khawal

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Postcard depicting a khawal (pre-1907)

A khawal (Arabic: خوال; pl. khawalat) was a type of Egyptian cross-dressing dancer popular between the 1800s and 1900s. After Muhammad Ali's societal reforms in 1834, khawalat took on roles previously performed by female ghawazi dancers in parts of Egypt.[1]

Culture

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Orientalist writer Edward William Lane describes khawal appearance and mannerisms during his time in Egypt:

As they impersonate women, their dances are exactly of the same description as those of the Ghawazee [female dancers] ... Their general appearance ... is more feminine than masculine: they suffer the hair of the head to grow long, and generally braid it, in the manner of women ... they imitate the women also in applying kohl and henna to their eyes and hands like women. In the streets, when not engaged in dancing, they often veil their faces; not from shame, but merely to affect the manners of women.[2]

The khawalat gained popularity after the ousting of ghawazi dancers from Cairo, replacing them at events and celebrations such as weddings, births, circumcisions, and festivals.[3] However, they were not necessarily mutually exclusive; Lane describes both khawal and ghawazi dancers being present during a wedding celebration.

Khawalat distinguished themselves by wearing a mixture of men's and women's clothing,[4] which brought attention to the difference of their role from traditional male and female expectations.[5] They were perceived as sexually available; their male audiences found their ambiguity seductive.[6]

Khawalat commonly performed for foreign visitors, variously shocking or delighting them.[7][8]

In modern Egyptian slang, the term is derogatory and refers to a passive gay man, and is considered offensive. [9][10]

References

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  1. ^ Peck, William H. "THE DANCER OF ESNA". Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  2. ^ Edward William Lane (1842). An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. Vol. 1. London: Charles Knight & Co. p. 260.
  3. ^ Mona L. Russell, ed. (2013). Middle East in Focus: Egypt. ABC-CLIO. p. 335. ISBN 9781598842340.
  4. ^ Judith Lynne Hanna (1988). Dance, Sex, and Gender: Signs of Identity, Dominance, Defiance, and Desire. University of Chicago Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 9780226315515.
  5. ^ Joseph A. Boone (2014). The Homoerotics of Orientalism. Columbia University Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780231521826.
  6. ^ Anthony Shay (2014). The Dangerous Lives of Public Performers: Dancing, Sex, and Entertainment in the Islamic World. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 160. ISBN 9781137432384.
  7. ^ Karin van Nieuwkerk (2010). A Trade like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt. University of Texas Press. p. 33. ISBN 9780292786806.
  8. ^ George Haggerty, Bonnie Zimmerman, Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures (2003, ISBN 1135578710), page 952.
  9. ^ "The Origins of the Word 'Khawal'". CairoScene. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  10. ^ "In a Time of Torture: The Assault on Justice In Egypt's Crackdown on Homosexual Conduct: I. Justice at Stake: An Introduction". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2025-09-26.

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