Stana Cerović was a Montenegrin sworn virgin in rural Montenegro. By the time of her death, she was known as the last such virgin in her country.
Biography
Stana Cerović was born in 1936 in a village near Šavnik, Montenegro, daughter of Anda and Milivoje Cerovic. She had three sisters and two brothers, both of which died in childhood. In response, she promised her father that she would continue to look after the family and live as a man. She began dressing male, and only socialised with men. Cerović began to smoke when she was five, and worked in the fields on her father's farm at seven. At a young age her mother was resistant of the masculine qualities that Cerovic’s father was reinforcing, and before Cerovic’s oath was taken, her mother continuously tried to change her dressing, and the chores she took participated in. Cerović learned traditionally male skills, including being taught to shoot by her father. She showed a passion for hunting and shooting throughout her life, and typically joined the men on their wolf hunts, despite not having a hunting license. When a shooting club was founded in a nearby village, she applied for membership, but was turned down. She later showed up at a tournament organized by the club, and after seeing all the men miss the mark, she took it upon herself to leave the audience and grab a rifle. Her first shot hit the mark proving that she was an excellent marksman. This was all part of becoming a sworn virgin, a traditional Balkancultural institution whereby a woman takes on the role of a man and remains unmarried and without children throughout her life. Over time, this practice became accepted, because it does not conflict with any of the three major religions practiced in the Balkan region; Islam, Roman Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. Although many sworn virgins were forced into the practice due to familial needs, or blood feuds, Cerović was proud of her masculine identity and believed that it was nature that was at fault for her biological sex. Although she genuinely saw herself as male, she believed that any sort of medical intervention would be abhorrent, so she never underwent any of the procedures associated with transsexual men.. She continued to live in her village for her entire life, raising cattle. At 35 Cerović became head of the household and Cerović remained in her parents home following their deaths, where she looked after her sisters. Following the death of her closest sister Vukosava, she became very distraught. Vukosava was the sister that typically helped her with most of her tasks in the fields, and they worked together often as brother and sister. She looked after her other sister until her death, leaving her sister’s eldest children to look after her. After being injured by one of her cattle in 2015, she sold them off. After being featured on Montenegrin television, offers of assistance to Cerović were made from around the country, such as travelogues offering her more exposure to the public eye, and news articles asking for monetary aid on her behalf. The local authorities arranged for her to be moved to a care home in 2016 at a house in Risan for the elderly poor. It was reported by Montenegrin state television in early August 2016 that she had died. By the time of her death, she was considered to be the last sworn virgin in Montenegro.
