Sworn virgins - 'honorary men' - get male privileges in Albania.

More info on sworn virgins.

I don't see this as great shakes for equality, really. Women are dubbed 'as good as' men only if (1) no real men are to be found and (2) they swear not to have sex ('cause men never have sex or anything). They're also pressured into it, either if they refuse their arranged marriages or if their fathers find it financially convenient.

I sometimes wonder about what I'm sure is a hoary old feminism/gender-equality issue: is 'escaping' the problems of your sex through gender reassignment (whether that reassignment is surgical or social) an anti-gender-equality move? A betrayal of all the other people 'stuck' as a woman (or man)? Better to stay and fight for your sistren/brethren?

Which obviously depends hugely on circumstance. If you're TG it's bollocks. If you're TG you're TG, there's quite enough to feel guilty or criticised for already and you're unlikely to be doing it for the lulz. Incidentally, you can't be diagnosed with gender identity disorder if your main reason for wanting to transition is "any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex" (DSM-IV). I don't believe there are all that many conniving fashion-transsexuals. Rather painful process to go through on a whim, and there's a good deal of counselling beforehand designed to weed out such ill-thought-out motivations.

But this is why I roll my eyes when people hold up 'manly-hearted women' and 'evening people' as great examples of non-Western TGs. Yes, cool that other cultures have realised the existence of gender variances, but these guys aren't liberated from gender norms. They're not always equal and respected.

Anyway, a lot of us don't want to be trailblazers. Standing out's not always the goal. Your gender's nothing to be ashamed of, but I'm dubious about people who scream about theirs. You challenging me to prove my open-mindedness and tolerance? Maybe I'm just not interested, mate.