How have ideas of femininity have changed over time? How did they work in ancient Rome?

PhD candidate Sheena Finnigan helps break down nuances, misconceptions, and complications of the history of femininity in ancient Rome. We explore how factors such as status and geography affected what was expected of women. Though western traditional womanhood often dictated that women remain in the private sphere supposedly based on Roman ideals, such ideas actually ran counter to ancient Roman culture where women were often expected to lead multifaceted lives.

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Episode Links:

Sheena Finnigan is a PhD candidate and instructor in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/finnigan-sheena/

Our music is “Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Please send us your questions for a historian: outreach@history.wisc.edu