Harem

In traditional Arab culture, the harîm حريم (cf. haram) is the part of the household forbidden to male strangers. In English, this term refers collectively to the wives in a polygynous household as well as the "no-males allowed" area. Another English definition for this term that is more modern in its usage is that of a number of women followers or admirers. This is especially used for those women who group themselves around one homosexual male. These women are sometimes offensively or humorously known as 'fag hags', particularly in America.

Contrary to the common belief, harem is not necessarily a part of a palace and its inhabitants do not necessarily consist solely of women with whom the head of the household has a sexual relation with. For example the harem of the Ottoman emperor's palace would contain several hundred women including wives, mistresses, emperor's mother, daughters and other female relatives and eunuchs and slave girls to serve the aforementioned women.

Harem is also the usual English translation of the Chinese language term hougong, 後宮—literally meaning "the palaces behind." Hougong are large Chinese royal palaces for the emperor's consorts and female attendants. The women who lived in an emperor's hougong sometimes numbered in the thousands.

The institution of the harem exerted a certain fascination on the European imagination, especially during Romanticism (see also Orientalism).

Zoology

In Zoology, the term is used for the social organization of certain species, such as those in the Hominidae and Equidae families, in groups of females surrounding a single dominant male. Non dominant males will organize themselves in bachelor groups.

See also

• Seraglio
• Odalisque