Contrary to my initial beliefs, this young man was a cross dresser and because of the jewelry he wore, he was believed to be a very powerful man in society. Known as a jet, the increase in religions at that time along with the jets suggests a correlation between the two. In essence, the 4th century B.C. in which he was found had already accepted and majorly respected these cross dressers as important roles in society. Ones capable of being leaders and creating change in a society. How can this long ago accepted idea have been transformed into such rigid lines between male and female for so long that we are still struggling today with acceptance?
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Week 2 Blogging Assignment
When reading about the gender roles through Hippocrates, Galen, and the Roman World, I was curious to see how transvesitites or transgenders were treated back in the day, especially after it was discussed in the article called "Rethinking Gender". So I found an article from BBC News that depicted an archological finding in Britain.
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I feel like some of the reason why we are not accepting is because it is not seen as something the "average" person does. This man, as explained in the article, was not the average Greek, but rather a castrated priest who worshiped the goddess Cybele. It was acceptable for her worshipers to get castrate and cross-dress. However, the article does not cover whether it was acceptable for an average citizen to wear clothes traditionally of the opposite gender.
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