Papers by Velvet Yates
Apeiron, 2000
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Arethusa, 2005
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Drafts by Velvet Yates
Plato and Xenophon, as oligarchic sympathizers in the resurgent Athenian democracy of the 380s BC... more Plato and Xenophon, as oligarchic sympathizers in the resurgent Athenian democracy of the 380s BCE, present a picture in their works of the leisured aristocrat as the only true citizen and patriot. Passages from the Gorgias and the Oeconomicus, referring to tanning makeup, reveal traces of an ideological beauty contest to crown 'the True Citizen.' This beauty contest pits the Craftsman, a pale, womanish creature, vs. the Gentleman, the manly product of the aristocratic gymnasium. The Craftsman relies on such props as tanning makeup and padded clothing to alter his appearance. The Gentleman, by contrast, stands forth naked and unadorned, his body the eloquent testimony of his supreme physical and mental aptitude for the rigors of citizenship. Before examining the Gorgias and Oeconomicus passages, I will first survey (in Part I) the ideology of tan vs. white skin in Greek culture up to the fourth century. Following Eaverly, I will argue that the 'tan men, white women' schema is visual shorthand for an ideology of gender roles. I will outline this schema in the visual arts and in the gynecological literature of the Hippocratics and Aristotle. Part II, a consideration of white women and white craftsmen in Aristophanes (Thesmophori-azousae, Ecclesiazousae), signals a shift in the ideology of tan vs. white, an attempt to reassign this 'natural' marker of gender to an equally 'natural' marker of class. With this shift, Aristophanes includes craftsmen in the group 'female.' Part III opens with a background description of Athens in the 380s, simmering with the resentments of oligarchs and democrats. Facing a revived democracy deeply suspicious of their loyalties, oligarchs must defend and redefine themselves. Plato and Xenophon utilize the tan vs. white schema to reassign gender and sex roles along class lines: the white Craftsman is demoted to 'woman;' elite women are promoted to 'man-like.' Part III concludes with a detailed examination of the passages from the Gorgias and the Oeconomicus referring to tanning makeup. Along with related passages from the Republic, they present an image of the Craftsman as white, sedentary , and effeminate, incapable of defending the state, needing a disguise to pass for a true citizen and man, his vacancy as 'man' filled by the aristocratic woman.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Conference Presentations by Velvet Yates
Refuting the common misconception of Socrates being a stonecutter, within the context of ironic l... more Refuting the common misconception of Socrates being a stonecutter, within the context of ironic lives/deaths invented for ancient philosophers
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Book Reviews by Velvet Yates
CJ Online book review of Aristotle's Politics: A Critical Guide
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Velvet Yates
Drafts by Velvet Yates
Conference Presentations by Velvet Yates
Book Reviews by Velvet Yates