Khawal

The khawal (Arabic: خوال) was a traditional native Egyptian male dancer cross-dressed in feminine attire and was popular up until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

[1] Following prohibitions on women dancing in some public places, cross-dressing boys and men took their place to continue the local tradition publicly, these dancers were known as khawal, an Egyptian slang for queer, and were mainly dressed in feminine clothes and outfits.

In the streets, when not engaged in dancing, they often veil their faces; not from shame, but merely to affect the manners of women.

[5] In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, they also commonly performed for foreign visitors, variously shocking or delighting them.

[8] In modern Egyptian slang, the term is derogatory and refers to a passive gay man, and is considered offensive.