"Six Sexes" & Gender Expression

The halachah recognizes six or seven sexual identity categories: male, saris (2 types), androgynus, tumtum, aylonit, and female. This sheet gives the Rambam's succinct definitions of those categories; illustrates that the 'non-binary' categories weren't considered exotic or disastrous with midrashim associating them at Adam, Abraham, and Sarah, as well as a midrash giving what sounds like a 'trans' identity for Isaac. Finally, two halachot illustrate a rabbinic awareness that gender expression follows 'local custom,' i.e. is socially constructed. The rabbinic halachic and midrashic tradition wasn't liberal in the modern sense with regard to these issues, but it does provide in impetus for a Jewishly rooted mind-opening with regard to sex and gender. Thanks to others who have posted source sheets on these issues, particularly Abby Stein, whose translation I quote and whose sheet pointed me to some of the other texts.

(ו) וְאֵלּוּ הֵן סִימָנֵי אַיְלוֹנִית. כָּל שֶׁאֵין לָהּ דָּדִין. וּמִתְקַשָּׁה בִּשְׁעַת תַּשְׁמִישׁ. וְאֵין לָהּ שִׁפּוּלֵי מֵעַיִם כְּנָשִׁים. וְקוֹלָהּ עָבֶה וְאֵינָהּ נִכֶּרֶת בֵּין אִישׁ לְאִשָּׁה. ...

And these are the signs of an aylonit: if she doesn't have breasts, and/or has difficulty during intercourse. Her lower abdomen isn't like a woman's. Her voice is rough and she can't be identified as male or female. ...

(יג) וְאֵלּוּ הֵן סִימָנֵי סָרִיס. כָּל שֶׁאֵין לוֹ זָקָן. וּשְׂעָרוֹ לָקוּי. וּבְשָׂרוֹ מַחֲלִיק. וְאֵין מֵימֵי רַגְלָיו מַעֲלִים רְתִיחָה. וּכְשֶׁמֵּטִיל מַיִם אֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה כִּפָּה. וְשִׁכְבַת זַרְעוֹ דִּיהָה. וְאֵין מֵימֵי רַגְלָיו מַחְמִיצִין. וְרוֹחֵץ בִּימוֹת הַגְּשָׁמִים וְאֵינוֹ מַעֲלֶה בְּשָׂרוֹ הֶבֶל. וְקוֹלוֹ לָקוּי וְאֵינוֹ נִכָּר בֵּין אִישׁ לְאִשָּׁה:

(יד) וְסָרִיס זֶה הוּא הַנִּקְרָא סְרִיס חַמָּה בְּכָל מָקוֹם. אֲבָל הַבֵּן שֶׁחָתְכוּ אוֹ נִתְּקוּ אוֹ מִעֲכוּ גִּידָיו אוֹ בֵּיצָיו כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָעַכּוּ''ם עוֹשִׂין הוּא הַנִּקְרָא סְרִיס אָדָם. ...

13. And these are the signs of a saris: He doesn't have a beard. His hair is weak. His flesh is smooth/hairless. His urine doesn't make foam. And when he urinates, it doesn't form an arch. And his semen is thin. And is urine doesn't ferment. And he washes in the rainy season without his flesh producing steam. And his voice is week and he can't be identified as male or female.

14. And such a saris is everywhere called a s'ris-hamah ("sun-saris"). But a male whose member or testicles were cut off or removed or crushed, as the idolaters do, is called a s'ris-adam (man[-made] saris). ...

(כד) מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ אֵיבַר זִכְרוּת וְאֵיבַר נְקֵבוּת הוּא הַנִּקְרָא אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוּס וְהוּא סָפֵק אִם זָכָר סָפֵק אִם נְקֵבָה. וְאֵין לוֹ סִימָן שֶׁיִּוָּדַע בּוֹ אִם הוּא זָכָר וַדַּאי אִם הִיא נְקֵבָה וַדָּאִית לְעוֹלָם:

One who has a male organ and a female organ is called an androgynus and there is uncertainty if they are male or female. And there is no sign that would ever determine that they were definitely male or female.

(כה) וְכָל מִי שֶׁאֵין לוֹ לֹא זִכְרוּת וְלֹא נְקֵבוּת אֶלָּא אָטוּם הוּא הַנִּקְרָא טֻמְטוּם וְגַם הוּא סָפֵק. וְאִם נִקְרַע הַטֻּמְטוּם וְנִמְצָא זָכָר הֲרֵי הוּא כְּזָכָר וַדַּאי. וְאִם נִמְצָא נְקֵבָה הֲרֵי הוּא נְקֵבָה. וְטֻמְטוּם וְאַנְדְּרוֹגִינוּס שֶׁהָיוּ בֶּן שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה וְיוֹם אֶחָד הֲרֵי הֵן בְּחֶזְקַת גְּדוֹלִים וְהֵם שֶׁנְּדַבֵּר בָּהֶן בְּכָל מָקוֹם:

And whoever has neither maleness nor femaleness, but is closed up is called a tumtum and they are also of an uncertain category. But if a tumtum is opened [by surgery or an accident] and a male organ is found, they are a definite male. And if a female organ is found, they are a female. ...

Note that in the previous two paragraphs, in Hebrew, Rambam uses the masculine/neutral pronoun הוא. So if we always translated הוא when applied to people as "he," the last sentence would come out, "And if a female organ is found, he is a female." In the first two sections, I kept הוא as male in 2:6, and היא as female in 2:13-14, since, as we'll see, there's something undefined that leans toward maleness in the case of androgynus and toward female for aylonit. But "they" or "s/he" would have also been a legitimate choice, I think.

(א) אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס יֵשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָכִים שָׁוֶה לַאֲנָשִׁים, וְיֵשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָכִים שָׁוֶה לַנָּשִׁים, וְיֵשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָכִים שָׁוֶה לַאֲנָשִׁים וְנָשִׁים, וְיֵשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָכִים אֵינוֹ שָׁוֶה לֹא לַאֲנָשִׁים וְלֹא לַנָּשִׁים:

The androgynus is [follows rules that are] in some ways like men, and in other ways like women and in some ways like men and women, and some ways like neither men nor women.

(ב) כֵּיצַד שָׁוֶה לַאֲנָשִׁים: מְטַמֵּא בְּלֹבֶן כַּאֲנָשִׁים, וְזוֹקֵק לְיִבּוּם כַּאֲנָשִׁים, וּמִתְעַטֵּף וּמִסְתַּפֵּר כַּאֲנָשִׁים, וְנוֹשֵׂא אֲבָל לֹא נִשָּׂא כַּאֲנָשִׁים, וְחַיָּב בְּכָל מִצְוֹת הָאֲמוּרוֹת בַּתּוֹרָה כַּאֲנָשִׁים:

How are they similar to men? ... They dress (and cut their hair) like a man; marry others and are not married off, like a man; and are obliged to perform all the commandments in the Torah, like a man.

More on dressing and cutting hair below. Note that an aylonit can be married (is "married off" (to a man)) according to the Mishnah, but if the husband didn't realize she was (/they were) and aylonit, he doesn't have to pay the specified ketubbah amounts if they get divorced.

(ג) כֵּיצַד שָׁוֶה לַנָּשִׁים: מְטַמֵּא בְּאֹדֶם כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאֵינוֹ מִתְיַחֵד עִם הָאֲנָשִׁים כַּנָּשִׂים, ...

How are they similar to women? They cause impurity with red discharge like women; and they must not be secluded with men, like women; ...

(ה) כֵּיצַד אֵינוֹ שָׁוֶה לֹא לַאֲנָשִׁים וְלֹא לַנָּשִׁים: אֵין חַיָּבִים לֹא עַל מַכָּתוֹ וְלֹא עַל קִלְלָתוֹ לֹא כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְלֹא כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאֵינוֹ נֶעֱרָךְ לֹא כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְלֹא כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאִם אָמַר "הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר שֶׁזֶּה לֹא אִישׁ וְלֹא אִשָּׁה" אֵינוֹ נָזִיר. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס בְּרִיָּה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ הוּא וְלֹא יָכְלוּ חֲכָמִים לְהַכְרִיעַ עָלָיו אִם הוּא אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה. אֲבָל טֻמְטוּם אֵינוֹ כֵּן, פְּעָמִים שֶׁהוּא אִישׁ פְּעָמִים שֶׁהוּא אִשָּׁה:

And in what are they different from both men and women? ... They must not be sold as a Hebrew slave, unlike men or women. They cannot be assigned a value [for purposes of fulfilling a vow for the value of persons], unlike men or women. .... Rabbi Meir [other versions say Rabbi Yose] says: the androgynus is its own particular creation, and the sages could not decide conclusively whether they were a man or a woman. But this is not so with a tumtum , for sometimes they are a man and sometimes they are a woman.

... אָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס בְּרָאוֹ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (בראשית ה, ב): זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בְּרָאָם. ...

(1) ... Said R’ Yirmiyah ben Elazar: In the hour when the Holy One created the first human, He created him [as] an androginos, as it is said, “created them male and female ”. ...

אמר רבי אמי אברהם ושרה טומטמין היו

Rabbi Ami said: Abraham and Sarah were originally tumtums

ספר רזין דאורייתא, בשם הרבי ר' מיכל מזלאטשוב

אולם הכוונה, דנודע אשר יצחק נולד בנשמת נוקבא, וכמו שכתב בעל אור החיים הק', ועל ידי העקדה היה לו נשמת דכר להשפיע..... רק זאת נודע סדר הגלגולים. ולפעמים נקבה תסובב גבר כי בסבת הגלגול נשמת נקבה תבוא בזכר, כאשר י'תרעם ה'גלגל ו'יתרעש ה'חוזר לבוא בגלגול שני ושלישי. ואם נקבה אשר תסובב בגבר, ...

Sefer Razin D'Oraita, Rabbi Yechiel Michael from Zloczow (1731-1786)

It is known that when Issac was born, he was born with the soul of a female, as it is written in Or Hachaim, and through the akeidah (binding of Issac) he got a male soul that can influence (meaning, can impregnate). ... But, this is known according to the Sod (Secret/Mysticism) of reincarnation - that at times, a female would be in a male body, because in the reasons of gilgal (reincarnation) the soul of a female would come to be in a male. ...

Translation by Abby Stein

(א) דברים האסורים משום לא ילבש גבר שמלת אשה. ובו ו' סעיפים:
המעביר שער בית השחי ובית הערוה אפילו במספרים כעין תער היו מכין אותו מכת מרדות בד"א במקום שאין מעבירין אותו אלא נשים כדי שלא יתקן עצמו תיקון נשים אבל במקום שמעבירין אותו גם האנשים אם העביר אין מכין אותו: הגה ואפילו לכתחילה שרי (ר"ן פ"ב דעבודת כוכבים) רק החברים נמנעים בכ"מ (שם ובב"י בשם נ"י) (וע"ל סימן קנ"ו): ומותר להעביר שער (שאר) אברים במספרים בכל מקום :

(1) One who removes the hair of the armpit or pubic area, even with scissors in a similar manner to a razor (i.e. close to the skin) receives lashes of rebellion. About what were these words said? In a place where only women remove it, so that he should not improve himself as women do. In a place where men, too, do so, however, if he does so they do not beat him. (Rama: Even initially this is permitted (Ran in Avodah Zarah). Only exceptionally scrupulous people refrain in all places (ibid and in Beis Yosef in the name of the Nimukei Yosef). See above Siman 156.) It is permitted to remove the hair of other limbs with scissors in any place.

(ה) לא תעדה אשה עדי האיש כגון שתשים בראשה מצנפת או כובע או תלבש שריון וכיוצא בו (ממלבושי האיש לפי מנהג המקום ההוא) (טור) או שתגלח ראשה כאיש ולא יעדה איש עדי אשה כגון שילבש בגדי צבעונים וחלי זהב במקום שאין לובשין אותם הכלים ואין משימין אותו החלי אלא נשים: הגה ואפילו באחד מן הבגדים אסור אף על פי שניכרים בשאר בגדיהם שהוא איש או אשה (ב"י) טומטום ואנדרוגינוס אסורים להתעטף כאשה:

(5) A woman may not clothe herself in men's clothing, e.g. put on her head a mitre or helment, or wear armor, and so on (Rama: from that which men wear in accordance with the local custom (Tur)) or shave her head like a man. A man may not clothe himself in the clothes of a woman, e.g. wear colored clothing or golden ornaments in a place where only women wear those things. (Rama: Even wearing just one of the garments is forbidden, even if it is apparent by his other garments that this is a man or a woman (Beit Yosef).) A tumtum and an androgynos are forbidden to dress like women.)

Terms for Gender Diversity in Classical Jewish Texts by Rabbi Elliot Kukla

Zachar: This term is derived from the word for a pointy sword and refers to a phallus. It is usually translated as “male” in English.

Nekevah: 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.

Androgynos: A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics. 149 references in Mishna and Talmud (1st-8th Centuries CE); 350 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes (2nd -16th Centuries CE).

Tumtum: A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured. 181 references in Mishna and Talmud; 335 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.

Ay’lonit: A person who is identified as “female” at birth but develops “male” characteristics at puberty and is infertile. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud; 40 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.

Saris: 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). 156 references in mishna and Talmud; 379 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.