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Concept information

Preferred term

nuns  

Definition

  • The word nun can conjure up images from traditional to irreverent in terms of gender. Those who call themselves nuns can range from feminine to masculine: a contemporary “sister,” who does not wear the traditional black habit, but rather modern women's clothing, perhaps a short veil or “wimple” and a small cross on a necklace; a traditionally dressed nun, whose habit is a full-length black gown and full veil, covering everything but her face and hands; or a man dressed as a nun in sexually suggestive female garb, a “drag queen nun.” Since the time of the creation of the category “nun,” established for the first order of female religious figures, the physical space of “nun” has expanded beyond the realm of gender. [Source: Encyclopedia of Gender and Society; Nuns]

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URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/nuns

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