Malakia

Malakia (Greek: ἀνανδρία – anandria; literally, μαλακία – malakia; Latin: mollites) was a particular type of cowardice, associated with effeminacy in men, that was widely condemned in ancient Greek society. To the ancient Greek, bravery was such an essential character trait of manliness that its absence was associated with femininity. Malakia could also refer to races, cultures, and societies as a whole.

One of the most well-known ancient Greek words for effeminate was "kinaidos" (cinaedus in its Latinized form), a man "whose most salient feature was a supposedly 'feminine' love of being sexually penetrated by other men." (Winkler, 1990) Another Greek word for an effeminate man is μαλακός – malakos (literally "soft"), which is still used in modern Greek in that derogatory sense. Another Greek word for an effeminate man was ἀνδρόγυνος – androgynos (the origin of English androgyny). It is made up of two Greek words: ἀνήρ – anēr "man" and γυνή – gynē "woman". It literally means "man-woman".

The English word effeminate comes from the Latin, ex, meaning "out", and femina, meaning woman. It generally means "being like a woman" metaphysically. From classical antiquity, this meaning of effeminacy passed into Christianity through the Bible and affected Western culture especially English and Victorian Culture. This reflects the gender connotations the concept (and especially the word "androgynos") had in classical Greek society, where women were seen as naturally subordinate to men. However, it may also carry connotations of sexuality which were not present in the Greek concept. Homosexual relationships were not considered indicative of effeminacy, and were sometimes seen as essential to the proper development of a male citizen (like the relationship between as erastes and eromenos).