Hi s tor i c a l V i ew s

on G e n der
Greek
 Aristotle, Plato and other Greek
Philosophers viewed women as the
inferior sex and are properties of men
whose only job was to obey their
husbands, bear children, and take care
of the household.
 Women in the ancient Greek world
had few rights in comparison to male
citizens. Unable to vote, own land, or
inherit, a woman's place was in the
home and her purpose in life was the
rearing of children.
 Men would serve the state while the
domain of women was the
household. The women's quarters of a
house, and wives were expected to
bear and raise children.
 Marriage itself would usually take
place when a maiden was between 13
and 15 years old; only after the birth of
her first child would she technically
become a woman.
 In ancient Greek society, the reputation
of women was in all cases to be
preserved. Many wealthy Athenian
women were supervised and
chaperoned by male relatives when
outside, and in some cases not allowed
to leave the house at all.
 For Spartan women, however, life was
different from their Athenian
counterparts. They rarely married before
the age of 20, while motherhood gave
them enhanced status; raising future
warriors was considered one of the most
important roles in Spartan society.
 Women in Sparta (and in Delphi,
Gortyn, Thessaly and Megara) could
also own land, and because of military
campaigns that took men away for long
periods of time, they often had control of
their own homes.
 A more common profession for many
women of the time was that of sex worker.
Of these, it's known that there were two
particular groups of workers, called
hetairai and pornai. A hetaira would have
been able to read and write, and been
employed to work for the higher classes
in society.
 Meanwhile, pornai (from which we get the
modern word 'pornography') would have
spent their time working in a brothel and
were expected to serve all levels of the
city's men, from the elite to members of the
lower classes.
Egypt
In Ancient Egypt, social dignity was not
based on gender, but rather on social
status.
 Herodotus, a Greek Historian,
observed the Egyptian civilization citing
the Egyptian women enjoyed higher
social status than Greek women
because they inherit property and
engage in trade and politics.
Women were qualified to sue and
obtain contracts incorporating any
lawful settlements, such as marriage,
separation, property, and jobs
Unlike other societies, Ancient Egyptian
women were not subservient to men,
were able to choose suitable men for a
wedding, and were also able to
separate from their husbands.
Ancient Egyptian women were able to
settle on monetary choices
independently, for example when
possessing a property. When entering a
marriage, women could claim joint
property with their husbands.
Ancient Egyptian women had the right
to education.
China
 Confucianism has stringent written
rules that dictate how women should
conduct themselves. The written
documents titled, “Three obedience’s
and four virtues” and “Precepts of
women” states that women should
 obey their father, when married
she is to obey her husband, and
when widowed she is to obey her
son.
In China from very early times,
men have been seen as the
core of the family.
 Gendered biases in ancient
patriarchal societies were very strict,
heavily enforced, and often violent.
● Sexism: Prejudice, stereotypes, and
discrimination based on sex.
“She's asking for it dressed like
that.”
“Boys will be boys.”
● Gender Pay Gap: Men earning more
than women for the same work.
● Underrepresentation: Women being
underrepresented in politics, military,
executive positions, etc.
● Rape Stigma: Stigmatization of
women reporting rape, leading to
underreporting.
● Conservative Expectations: Society
having conservative expectations on
how women should behave.
● Unrealistic Depictions: Women
being portrayed unrealistically and
often sexualized in fiction.
● Gendered Division of Labor: Women
being burdened with more housework
and childcare responsibilities.
● Gendered Training: Boys being
trained to be leaders while girls were
trained for household chores.