1. Ancient Views on Sexuality
Presentation by: Aliya Estes

2. Current Modern View Sexuality based on gender preference
Heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, etc.
Homsexuality is looked down on by religious grounds
Heterosexuality is seen as the norm by Western Society
A person’s sexuality defines who they are

3. Ancient Roman View Not concerned with inherent sexual preference
Everyone respectable had to marry
The purpose of marriage was to produce children to give/receive dowry
Wives were required to be chaste (to be sure the children she had were the husband’s)
The Roman family was built upon marriage
Romans were okay with homsexuality (MYTH...kind of)
“The line does not exist”
No enacted societal principle of homosexuality being wrong
The concept of heterosexuality/homosexuality was not developed
Sex was for recreation and self-expression

4. In the text - The Satyricon
Trimalchio and his cohorts are not held accountable/taken seriously by the audience for their misbehavior because they are not respectable people:
none of the guests are married
Trimalchio is married but he has no children
This goes against traditional Roman lifestyle
Their “antics” don’t count aka “the orgy”

5. The Teratogenic Grid Roman sexual schema is rigidly phallocentric
Active by definition is male
Passive by definition is female
classification system not based on gender but on active versus passive
Four sexual categories for people

6. Active vs. Passive Active normal/active male -- vir
Antitype: passive/abnormal man - pathicus/cinaedaus
Having sex with other men is proof that a man identified as a vir is a manly man
Anything that does not involve penetration is in danger of passive label
Passive
normal/passive female -- femina/puella
Antitype: active/abnormal woman - virago/tribas/moecha
A woman is defined as one who is penetrated in the vagina -- puella/femina
To be passive is to play the part of a woman

7. Two Important Prohibitions for Male Romans:
Passive Sexuality
Male being penetrated marked him as degraded/feminized
Men were considered men because they were able to penetrate
Only low status/no status men were penetrated
Oral Sex
The pleasure giver is in the inferior role
For a man to give oral sex is for him to be passive
Oral sex performed on woman was considered a source of permanent shame
Romans had a paranoia about oral -- “Dirty Mouth”

8. The Teratogenic Grid

9. The Teratogenic Grid futere/pedicare/irrumare - to penetrate
futuor/pedicator/irrumator - penetrator
futui/pedicari/irrumari - to be penetrated
cunnilinctor/cinaedus/fellator - the penetrated (male)
puella/pathica/fellatrix - the penetrated (female)