Sexing the World: Grammatical Gender and Biological Sex in Ancient Rome

Description

From the moment a child in ancient Rome began to speak Latin, the surrounding world became populated with objects possessing grammatical gender-masculine eyes (oculi), feminine trees (arbores), neuter bodies (corpora). Sexing the World surveys the many ways in which grammatical gender enabled Latin speakers to organize aspects of their society into

Anthony Corbeill is professor of classics at the University of Kansas and the author of Controlling Laughter: Political Humor in the Late Roman Republic and Nature Embodied: Gesture in Ancient Rome (both Princeton).

"Winner of a 2016 Charles Goodwin Award of Merit, Society for Classical Studies" "This book is both enjoyable and thought-provoking."---Teresa Morgan, Times Literary Supplement "There is no denying . . . that Corbeill has given us much to ponder about Roman linguistic, literary, and religious culture in these packed pages."---Alison Keith, American Historical Review "Engaging and deftly written, Corbeill's book should in fact be recommended not only to anyone interested in Latin language and Roman culture, but also to any curious person typing on a gendered keyboard."---Dorota Dutsch, Gnomon