Non-Binary and Intersex Visibility and Erasure in Roman Archaeology

• Main Author: Miller Power
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Open Library of Humanities 2020-12-01
• Series: Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal
• Subjects: transgender; non-binary; gender; roman; intersex; sex
• Online Access: https://traj.openlibhums.org/articles/422

An issue being tackled in modern, particularly western, archaeology is the assumption that something intrinsic to a scholar’s own culture is an etic in space and time. While many insist our views of sex and gender in the modern world are changing, there has always been variation from the sex-based binary. This article explores intersex visibility in archaeology, and the potential for contemporary non-binary genders. This is achieved through analysis of the issues that prevent non-binary identities and intersex people from being identified in archaeology. This paper argues that gender cannot be explored accurately out of context, as it is strongly linked to the culture they live in and their life experiences. Additionally, the people who buried them might have had a different view of their gender and its presentation. Thus, this paper focuses on the issues of studying gender in Roman Britain, and in the ancient world.