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ART BINOCULAR
from The Bohemian
Taking a Look around the World through 5 Art News
UK Art and History Museum classifies Roman Emperor Elagabalus as a trans Woman
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The North Hertfordshire Museum in the UK has classified the Roman Emperor Elagabalus as a transgender woman and will from now on use female pronouns for the ruler in their descriptions. The decision was made together with the LGBT charity Stonewall, after it was discovered that some Ancient Roman documents state that Elagabalus wanted to be referred to as a “lady”.
Elagabalus, who assumed the Roman throne at the age of 14 is a controversial historical figure and there has been a long-standing debate over the leaders gender identity between academics. Some scholars, like Dr. Shushma Malik, a classics Professor at the University of Cambridge, claim that effeminate lan-guage was often used in Ancient Rome to slander political figures like the Emperor, and that we therefore cannot be sure of Elagabalus’ gender. While there are accounts of the ruler wearing makeup and wigs, these could have been written to “undermine the unpopular Emperor”.
Other experts however, like Keith Hoskins, executive member of the “Enterprise and Arts at North Herts” Council, believe that these accounts are evidence for Elaga-balus being trans and wanting to be referred to as a woman, He states that “pronouns are not a new thing” and thinks that museums should reflect this in contemporary discussions about historical figures.
A spokesperson for the North Hertford-shire Museum has explained that it was “only polite and respectful to be sensitive to identifying pronouns for people in the past”.
