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This painting is a rare, 18th-century depiction of a femminiello (cross dressed male), capturing a glimpse of a fascinating subculture that is entrenched in Neapolitan history. These men were usually the youngest child of impoverished families, and would be brought up as a femminiello and dressed as women from a young age. They were met with good humour rather than derision and were accepted almost as a third sex. In Naples, still today, the tradition of the femminiello remains strong.
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