Prostitution In Ancient Rome

Prostitution in Ancient Rome was a diverse culture; it was open to all sexes, gender did not matter. Those who participated in the act of being with prostitutes were excluded from the privileges of a full Roman citizen. This was because it was seen as a shame to be with a prostitute (Mcginn 89). Regardless of the negative connotations that there has been against prostitutes because of the belief that women were evil, they still had economic and ideological power. Female prostitutes were able to support themselves financially and held a large influence over the amount of power women were given in Rome. There were also male prostitutes that had economic power and ideological through their networks. When we try to understand the reason why prostitutes …show more content…
The truth is women had little to no power in ancient Rome, they were seen as the weaker sex, they were excluded from the public sphere (Mcginn 22). Rome was a republic ran by men for men, where women had no place or say (Keifer 39). An example that shows the way women were controlled can be seen through the toga, Mcginn states, “The toga is appropriate for the prostitute…because they used to solicit customers like this, dressed in dark colored togas, in order to be distinguished from respectable women”(165). The goal was for the toga to serve as a symbol, it was understood by the community that if a woman was to wear a toga she was not a “respectable woman”. If a woman committed adultery, she had to wear the toga garment in public, as a punishment and she was immediately labeled a prostitute (Mcginn 165).Women who held dignity and were respected were forced to wear a matronal stola, to demonstrate in public that they were pure (Mcginn 168). This shows how women were controlled regardless of their status because they were not able to have control over their own bodies nor what they could wear. We have to remember they lived in a dominant patriarchy, males controlled women by making them wear the stola matronal, which distinguished them from prostitutes in the streets and they held the power under the patriarchy (Mcginn

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