Menstruation and Henna: Pollution and Purification - The Henna Page

Figure 23: detail of Transvestite, Qajar Persia, early 19th c, Christie’s Images, London (Cawthorne,
1997: 134)
Transgendered men often worked as musicians and entertainers, performing at “Night of the
Henna” and other celebrations, and were often considered more acceptable if female performers
were believed to be prostitutes. They dressed in feminine clothing, though not necessarily female
clothing, adopted female mannerisms, and they may have worn henna to further emulate women
(Wikan, 1982: 168-86). If they were active sexually, the purpose of henna may also have been a
protection from contact with semen, which was considered as polluting as menstrual blood, or
henna could have been read as a symbol of sexual availability.
Women rarely used henna when widowed or after menopause, though they would henna a little at
weddings, Ids, and after Ramadan with the rest of the family. This is in accordance with the
“Menstruation and Henna, Pollution and Purification”, was written by Catherine Cartwright-Jones as partial completion
of the requirements for a Master’s degree in Liberal Studies focusing on henna, under the supervision of Dr. A Smith
and Dr. N Ammar, Kent State University, Kent Ohio, USA
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