Identity, Age, Gender, Sexuality, and Disability in Ancient Contexts (Lecture Notes)

Acknowledgments and Context

• Acknowledge traditional land custodians: Wadawatagal people of the Darug nation (Macquarie University) and their cultures since dream time; respect to the Darug people and the Wadamargu clan.
• Acknowledge the Gadigal clan of the Inora nation where the unit is taught.
• Acknowledge the traditional custodians of each session participant’s location.
• Topic: identity, individuality, and personhood, part II; studies on age, gender, sexuality, and disability.
• Aim: define key terms (as listed on iLearn) and identify overlooked or undervalued areas in ancient life in the margins within broader disciplinary narratives.

Key Terms and Foundational Definitions

• Person: an entity, human or otherwise, which may be conceptualized and treated as a person.
• A person is a composite being with interwoven aspects (mind, spirit/soul, body) and agency; who or what counts as a person is context-dependent.
• Personhood: the condition or state of being a person; ongoing transformation through life and after death; attained through relationships with humans, things, places, animals, and spiritual features of the cosmos.
• Notable work: Archaeology of Personal by Chris Fowler.
• Personality: the individual characteristics by which a personal thing is recognized; the state of having unique identifying characteristics held by no other person or thing.

Identity: The Theoretical Core (Diazandro & Lucy)

• Identity is often self-explanatory in modern contexts but definitions are contested in scholarship.
• Key takeaways from the introduction:
  • Identity is an individual’s identification within broader groups based on socially significant differences.
  • Identity is inextricably linked to a sense of belonging; it is not static but a continual process.
  • Identities are constructed through interaction; acquisition and maintenance require choice and agency.
  • Through agency, individuals define who they are; selection of groups is constrained by structural factors (e.g., bodily boundaries).
  • Identities are historical, fluid, and socially mediated; performed through embodiment and action.
• Social status definitions (referenced from an earlier week): see prior slides for recall.
• Socially constituted identity may produce multiple identities via participation in different groups; these can be united by name and embodied self.
• Identity encompasses roles and group belonging, including but not limited to: ethnicity, gender, age, class, nationality, and social status.
• Distinction: social role vs social identity – social roles can be temporary; identities are more enduring and socially mediated.
• Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989): an analytical framework for understanding how interconnected social categorizations (class, gender, race, religion, etc.) create overlapping systems of discrimination, disadvantage, or privilege.
  • Formulaic intuition: multiple axes of identity interact to produce unique experiences of oppression or empowerment.
  • Quote for reference: intersectionality highlights that every aspect of identity can marginalize or privilege in different contexts.
• Self: individuals’ personal characteristics, attributes, roles, and subjective experience of time and being.
• Self-presentation (Basir, 2019): the selection and fashioning of self for display; constrained and guided by function and boundaries of social decorum; significant potential for agency.

Age and Related Identities

• Age: the physical, biological dimensions of chronological age.
• Age identity: subjective, rhetorical, socially constructed awareness of age; inner experience of aging.
• Aging process: the outcomes of processes through which one identifies with or distances oneself from different aging aspects.
• Agency note: linked to self-presentation and identity; age-related agency interacts with social norms and opportunities.

Age, Gender, Sexuality, and Disability: Core Topics

• Gender, Sex, and Sexuality are distinct concepts often conflated in popular discourse.
• Sex: biological attributes (male, female, intersex); indicators include sex chromosomes, anatomy, hormones, physiology, and reproductive organs.
• Gender: culturally constructed attitudes, feelings, and behaviors associated with sex; gender norms define what is considered appropriate.
• Gender identity: internal, self-perceived sense of one’s gender; may be socially constructed in medical/legal terms; can be nonbinary and change over time.
• Gender expression: outward presentation (appearance, clothing, behavior) signaling gender; may or may not align with gender identity or assigned sex.
• Gender binary: traditional division into two categories (woman/female and man/male) or feminine/masculine; many cultures recognize beyond binary.
• Sex vs gender vs sexuality:
  • Sex = biological attributes.
  • Gender = social/psychological attributes and roles.
  • Gender identity = internal sense of self.
  • Gender expression = outward signaling of gender.
  • Sexuality: sexual interests, desires, behaviors, and orientation.
• Sexuality diversity: heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality, pansexuality, gynesexuality, etc.; sexual activity does not define sexual identity.
• Sexual identity: person’s perception of themselves in relation to sexuality.
• Disability: a physical, sensory, psychiatric, neurological, cognitive, and/or intellectual impairment of body structure or function that presents a limitation in activities or participation; can be visible or nonvisible, inherited or acquired, temporary or permanent.

Disability, Norms, and Oppression

• Normalization: social processes that pressure individuals to conform to culturally desirable norms; produces ideals against which people are judged; norms can be formal or informal, visible or invisible, explicit or implicit; reinforced by sanctions.
• Key discourses in discrimination and bias:
  • Ageism: prejudice against people based on age.
  • Sexism: prejudice against or discrimination toward one sex; historically and culturally tied to portrayals of women.
  • Angiocentrism: privileging masculine viewpoints in worldviews, marginalizing femininity.
  • Gynocentrism: privileging feminine viewpoints, marginalizing masculinity.
  • Homophobia: irrational fear or prejudice against LGBTQ+ people.
  • Heterosexism: institutionalized or normative privileging of opposite-sex attraction; reinforces a heterosexual default.
  • Heteronormativity: assumption that heterosexual attraction is normal; society, culture, and law reinforce this.
  • Ableism: discrimination based on able-bodied norms; marginalizes people with disabilities.
  • Disableism: discriminatory attitudes or practices that promote unequal treatment based on actual or presumed disabilities.

Knowledge, Power, and Margin: Border Thinking

• TEDx discussion by Jasmine Ghani (University of St Andrews) on knowledge, power, and race.
• Whose voices matter? Determined by narrowly defined, racist constructions of civilization and intellect; colonial frameworks devalue colonized peoples’ voices.
• Consequences: racism and colonialism persist in philosophy, political theory, and Egyptology; “colonial aphasia”—the tendency to ignore racialized voices in knowledge production.
• Key concept: border thinking — producing knowledge from the margins; fundamental for studying ancient life in the margins.
• Practical prompts for students:
  • How do we reference diverse and marginalized scholars in curricula and journals?
  • Whose voices do you cite? What counts as credible knowledge?
• Relevance for Egyptology: urges critical historiography and multidisciplinary reassessment of evidence.

Case Studies: Life in the Margins in Egyptian Archaeology (Overview)

• Four key areas identified as overlooked, undervalued, or hidden due to knowledge-power-race dynamics in colonial frames:
  1) Age-related life course information (pregnancy, birth, fetal/infant/child loss; social construction of childhood; daily life, religion, ritual; death; bioarchaeological perspectives).
  2) Sex, gender, and sexuality beyond narrow heteronormative frames; need for broader engagement with social sciences.
  3) Disability: growing but still sparse engagement in Egyptology; terminology and theory are evolving.
  4) Intersectionality: how multiple identities intersect to shape marginalization and empowerment in ancient contexts.
• Authors and scholars to note for broader engagement: Lynn Meskell, Terry Wilfong, Cara Cooney, and Yurosh (Yuriy) Matic as contributors who have pushed beyond traditional androcentric readings.
• The overall aim: reassess primary evidence with interdisciplinary methods to illuminate marginalized lives in ancient Egypt.

Gender, Sex, and Sexuality in Egyptology: Key Considerations

• Early scholarship often examined gender via female/memale binaries developed from contextual analysis of certain social groups; corrective work sought to reinterpret negatively characterized women (e.g., Hatshepsut, Cleopatra VII).
• Persistent heteronormativity in the field: gendered expectations often pathologize deviations from the binary.
• Important conceptual axes (reiterated):
  • Sex: biological attributes.
  • Gender identity: internal sense of self.
  • Gender expression: outward signals.
  • Gender: social roles and expectations.
  • Sexuality: orientation and behavior.
• Expressions of masculinity and femininity may be under-discussed; need for deeper exploration of masculinity, femininity, and non-normative identities.
• Historical notes: while some scholars (Meskell, Wilfong, Cooney, Matic) have advanced non-normative interpretations, the field remains dominated by heteronormative lenses.
• Heteronormative diagram (conceptual):
  • Red path (cisgender female): born female → identifies as woman → expresses femininity → attracted to men.
  • Green path (cisgender male): born male → identifies as man → expresses masculinity → attracted to women.
  • Deviations are often treated as nonconformity or deviance; notable targets include Hatshepsut and Akhenaten as potential case studies for gender nonconformity.

Disability in Egyptology: Terminology and Theory

• Theoretical discussions on impairment, disability, and related topics have grown in general humanities scholarship but remain limited in Egyptology.
• Contemporary resources for terminology and theory include:
  • Alexandra Morris and Debbie Sneed (Society for Classical Studies): "A Brief Guide to Disability Terminology and Theory in Ancient World Studies" (blog post) — aims to demystify language and promote humanizing discourse; emphasizes ongoing work and voices to be included.
  • Link to the blog provided for extended reading and discussion.
• Takeaway: language matters for humanizing disabled people (ancient and modern); encourage inclusion of diverse voices in interpretation and pedagogy.

Practical Reflections and Next Steps

• For ongoing study, consult iLearn extension materials and module extensions to explore chosen case studies in depth.
• Reflection prompts:
  • How do we contextualize marginal lives within ancient Egypt using bioarchaeology, artifact analysis, and textual sources?
  • How do contemporary frameworks like intersectionality reshape our readings of gender, sexuality, and disability in ancient artifacts and inscriptions?
  • In what ways can border thinking inform our research questions, data interpretation, and citation practices?

Connections to Previous Lectures and Real-World Relevance

• Builds on earlier definitions of social status; emphasizes that identity is not simply a static label but a dynamic process shaped by social interaction and power structures.
• Connects foundational principles of social theory (agency, embodiment, social construction) to practical archaeological interpretation.
• Emphasizes ethical implications: terminology choices, representation of marginalized groups, and the responsibility to include diverse voices in scholarship and education.

Extensions and Readings

• iLearn: access to definitions, extension readings, and case study options.
• For disability terminology and theory: Morris & Sneed’s blog post (Society for Classical Studies) — primer and ongoing resource.
• TEDx: Jasmine Ghani’s discussion on knowledge, power, and race as a framework for border thinking and inclusive scholarship.

Summary Takeaways

• Identity is a dynamic, socially mediated process tied to belonging and agency; multiple identities can intersect (intersectionality).
• Distinguish clearly between sex (biology), gender (social identity and norms), gender identity (internal sense), and sexuality (orientation and behavior).
• Age-related life courses and aging are often under-studied in Egyptology; similar gaps exist for gender, sexuality, and disability.
• Normalization and various forms of discrimination shape how marginalized groups are perceived and studied; ethical, inclusive scholarship requires border thinking and deliberate citation practices.
• The study of life in the margins in ancient Egypt has great potential to illuminate broader social histories when approached through multidisciplinary methods and reflexive scholarship.