Roman Sexuality Flashcards
How was roman sexuality different?
Men were free to pursue partners outside of marriage, possible to purchase sexual partners, no notion of sexual identity, sexual pleasure had a positive (blessing from venus)
What literary sources are there?
Legal and historical texts, poetry, and political papers written by elite males
What limitations of evidence is there?
Literary sources written by males wrote only of sexual activity deemed fit for men, location-based observations also difficult
What other sources are there?
Artistic evidence: paintings, lamps, vases, mosaics
Where would items deemed offensive or crude be stored from general view?
Secret Cabinet at the National Museum of Naples
How were literary sources affected by expurgation?
Translations omitted “immoral” material or left it in latin and/or translated to italian
What is essentialism?
People have properties that are essential to who they are, such properties are definitive of identity
What is constructivism?
Different times and places produce different results, sex and sexuality are cultural constructions and vary from place to place
What were sexual categories in Rome?
Penetrator (active/masculine) and penetrated (passive/feminine)
Sexual corresponded to —–?
Social status and gender (i.e. being the penetrated or involved in sexual torture was a mark of low status)
What did roman sexuality operate on?
The basis of gender identity, NOT sexuality
What was the perceptions of lesbianism?
Not recognized as sexual as it did not include a penis, but Martial’s literary evidence describes a dildo as a “monstrous organ”
What was the phallus?
An apotropaic object, with a protective purpose - also inspiring ideas of power and pride (the larger the penis, the greater the awe or amusement)
What were the attitudes towards female sexuality?
- Women were seen as nymphomaniacs and transgressive if they were sexually active
- Women unable to control sexual appetites
- Citizen women not able to engage in extra-marital sex, adultery also limited to them
Where could erotic images be found?
Roman households (indicative of high status and refined taste) and public spaces in order to protect or give the ambience of high-status (suburban baths in pompeii and brothels above prostitutes living quarter)
Were sexual scenes used as pornography?
Yes, evidence suggests Tiberius used erotic images for sexual stimulation as much of the population did
Attitudes towards oral sex?
Thought to dirty the mouth, organ of speech, causing os impurum
Same-sex male couplings?
- Entirely normal as long as penetrator was a citizen and the penetrator was a younger non-citizen
- Status was indicative of whether a sexual act was considered acceptable or not
What evidence of same-sex male couplings is there?
Martial’s epigrams detailing a wife growing jealous or concerned about the husband taking slave boy’s to bed
What accusations were used to destroy status and image?
That a man was sexually passive or cinaedus: an effeminate man that abandoned all masculine ideals to submit to other men (in behaviour and appearance, as well as penetration)
Same-sex couplings women?
- Little literary or visual evidence because it wasn’t considered sexual
- Tribades: women who used a dildo or stimulated each other manually
- These behaviours were seen as transgressive
What is stuprum?
- Sexual misconduct
- Cases usually handled within family boundaries
- Women could be punished for engaging in activities believed to lead to stuprum (i.e. women charged her dowry for drinking wine)
- Augustus differentiated between adultery and stuprum
- Punished with relegatio or deportatio
Rape and the law?
- per vim stuprum: stuprum through force/violence
- Rape of free women or boys was made a crime by Caesar before it was prosecuted under iniuria (law on damaged reputation and physical harm)
- Rape as death penalty under Augustus
- If a slave was raped without their master’s permission, the offender could be prosecuted for property damage
What was thought to be needed for conception? What evidence of orgasm is there?
Female orgasm (e.g. Martial’s writings of encouraging a woman to fake orgasm if needed in order to enhance her partner’s gratification)
