Gender in Determining the Experience of Childhood in Ancient Rome

Gender in Determining the Experience of Childhood in Ancient Rome

As it has been observed throughout history, cultures have had their own mind set on the growth of individuals. Culture also dictates the way various genders and age groups should behave and relate towards one another. The variations that occur between the biological, chronological and the social aging of individuals in their different age transitions between life and death help in the determination of the character of the individual. In Rome, gender played an important role in determining the experiences of childhood and the transition from childhood to adulthood.

In ancient Rome, the personal attributes of the individual and the society as well as the different stages the different genders were exposed to help in the definition of the character of the children in their growing stages[1]. The wealth and the empowerment of a particular family was also a determining factor. Wealth in Rome made it possible for individuals to secure and acquire anything their hearts desired. As a result, there was a great difference in the lifestyle, character and the way of life led by children from wealthy and poor backgrounds.

The gender of the children in these families was also an influential factor whereby there was an expectation laid in the behavior exhibited. This is due to the reason that the different families have different moral codes to uphold and these moral codes differ with regard to the social status of a particular family. Childhood in the ancient Rome was a complex stage in the life of an individual because of issues of gender and the expectations placed on male and female children by the society. Different issues of behavior training that was tied to one’s gender marked childhood.

In Rome when a child was born, it was put on the father’s feet. If the father took the child in his arms, it showed that he had accepted the child as his own child and took all the priviledges of membership into the family. Until the age of seven, both girls and boys were put under the care of the mother to teach them how to speak Latin in a correct way. However, at the age of seven years and onwards, a boy was put under a regular teacher while the girl remained under the mother. The formal education for a girl child was shortened because she needed to learn issues about home management because of the fact that she would be married early. The girl learnt how to spin, sew and weave from the mother. The father, depending on his profession, trained the boy child. If the father was a farmer, the boy would be taught farming skills. Generally, fathers taught their children how to use weapons in military training in addition to swimming, wrestling and boxing[2].

Children had no independence in the ancient Rome. They were dependent on their parents especially the father for protection. The transition from childhood into adulthood, from parental domination into marriage only marked a change in identity but did not change the aspect of independence[3]. This is because a woman got from her father and brothers’ domination into her husband’s domination and later into her son’s dominations. This shows that the male child received an upper hand in terms of care because he was a source of protection to the mother and sisters in the family.

In Rome, the male head of the household had a lot of power, which meant that children especially girls had a few rights throughout the Roman Empire. In fact, in most literature works, the subject of children was given a little consideration. Most research centered on the family that included the natal family, conjugal rights and extended and foster families including slaves. The birth of children in the Roman Empire happened in the women’s quarters with other women present and a midwife. To announce the sex of the newborn child, the family of the newborn decorated the doorway with wool to symbolize that the child was a girl[4].

A wreath of olive in the doorway signified that the newborn was a male child. The male, who was the head of the house, had a right to accept the child into the household or refuse with respect to the gender of the child, the size of the family and the physical attributes of the child. Disposal was done simply by abandoning the infant to die on its own in order to avoid the guilt of killing (Laes 65). When the heads of the households made decisions to keep or dispose newborn, the issue of gender played a significant role. Male children were generally preferred to female children in ancient Rome. When the head of the household decided to raise a girl, the status of the male children remained higher than that of the children.

In ancient Rome, male children received distinctive personal names at the time of birth that did not have to do with their fathers’ names. On the other hand, girls were given their fathers’ names with a feminine ending. For instance, a man known as Julius would name his female child as Julia. In addition, the transition from childhood into adulthood in the Roman Empire was gender specific. Male children were subjected to rituals that were public and civic. These rituals focused on their political life and the socio-economic status that they were expected to have as heads of households. On the other hand, female children were subjected to rituals that were done privately[5]. The rituals were domestic and focused on their biological make up as child bearers and their social status as wives to be.

The male children had different experiences as compared to their female counterparts. The boys were allowed to roam around and play. They were allowed to see the outside more than the girls did. This is because girls were expected to be home keepers. Therefore, the outside was not important for them because it did not help them to learn their future roles as wives and child bearers. On the other hand, boys had to learn about the outside because they were taught the roles that have to do with protecting their families and the ability to provide for their families as breadwinners and as heads of their households.

Learning in Rome was based on fear. This was specifically meant for boys in the sense that they were beaten for the slightest mistake they did. This was done because of the belief that a boy would lean accurately and correctly if he feared cane. In fact, in some schools, a policy made two slaves hold a boy while the tutor beat him with a leather whip. Generally, girls also had schooling. They received their schooling at home. However, the subjects that girls learned differed from that of boys because they were specifically taught on home training. Therefore, boys and girls were treated differently in almost every aspect except at the age of between birth to about seven years when they were placed under the care of the mother. From then on, everything that boys did or were subjected to was different in every aspect. It is at the age of seven onwards that both boys and girls were taught lessons that would make them become responsible men and women when they become adults.

After birth, babies’ bodies were swaddled according to the sex of the baby. For instance, boys were swaddled more tightly around the pelvis than girls did. The midwife prodded and pushed the body of the young child is shape, for instance, extending the foreskin. Childhood was defined in two ways, in the Ancient Rome[6]. The two stages were from the time of birth to the age seven and from age seven to fourteen years. In the first stage, both male and female children were treated fairly the same.

The second stage of childhood was a bit different in the way girls and boys were handled. For instance, their fathers determined the age of maturity for boys. The father had the role of ensuring that a boy was physically and mentally healthy meaning that their physical and mental aspects determined the age they were considered adults. This was seen with regard to the fact that boys became men at the age of between fourteen and sixteen years old. In addition, the treatment of children as they were ushered into adulthood was different in terms of gender. For boys, coming of age would see them dedicate their Bulla to the protective deities who were referred to as Lares and were required to put on a Toga Virilis[7].

. In legal terms provided under the Roman Empire, boys were allowed to marry once they attained age fourteen. On the other hand, girls were not subjected to this type of ritual. On the other hand, girls could be married starting at age twelve, two years earlier than boys do. For female children, therefore, the marking of their coming to age was done through a wedding once they had someone to marry them.

Another aspect of gender that determined the experience of childhood in Roman Empire is the treatment of the dead children. In the Roman Empire, the deaths of male children were handled differently from the death of female children as seen in the emphasis on the epitaphs (Rawson 45)[8]. For the male children who died, their memorials were marked properly in epitaphs that mentioned their age. However, this did not mean that boys died more than girls did. Rather, it meant that the death and burial of girls was not taken seriously as that of the male children.

In conclusion, gender was very essential in determining the experience of childhood in ancient Rome. Gender issues as used in ancient Rome determined the experiences that children had. For instance, because the males were the heads of households and the ones responsible for the protection of their families, male children were preferred than the female children. Male children were taught issues of citizenship and economic status; whereas girls were taught domestic issues that would help them become good wives and child bearers. The difference in the handling of male and female children was specifically tied to the roles that they would become when they grew. For instance, when they grew up, girls were expected to become house wives and were supposed to do home chores and take care of children. Therefore, they were subjected to home training and good mannerisms. On the other hand, boys were expected to become breadwinners and provide protection for their families when they married. Therefore, they were taught military exercises and issues about professionalism in order to provide for their families when they married.

 

Works Cited

Rawson, Beryl. Children and Childhood in Roman Italy. London: Oxford University Press,

3. Print.

Laes, Christian. Children in the Roman Empire: Outsiders Within. London: Cambridge, 2011.

Print.

Kleijwegt, Mark. Ancient Youth: The ambiguity of youth and the absence of adolescence in

Greco-Roman society. Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1991. Print.

Harlow, Mary and Ray Laurence. Growing Up and Growing Old in Ancient Rome: A Life

Course. London: Routledge, 2001. Print.

[1] Mary Harlow and Ray Laurence. Growing Up and Growing Old in Ancient Rome: A Life  Course. (London: Routledge, 2001, Print).12

Mary Harlow and Ray Lawrence, Growing up and Old

[2] Mary Harlow and Ray Laurence. Growing Up and Growing Old in Ancient Rome: A Life Course. (London: Routledge, 2001, Print).16

Mary Harlow and Ray Lawrence, Growing up and Old, 10-20

[3] Christian Laes. Children in the Roman Empire: Outsiders Within. (London: Cambridge, 2011). Print.

Christian Laes. Children in the Roman Empire, 34-40.

[4] Beryl Rawson. Children and Childhood in Roman Italy. (London: Oxford University Press, 2003, Print). 57

Beryl Rawson. Children and Childhood, 50-60.

[5] Mark Kleijwegt. Ancient Youth: The ambiguity of youth and the absence of adolescence in  Greco-Roman society, (Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1991, Print). 34

Mark Kleijwegt. Ancient Youth, 30-40.

[6] Mark Kleijwegt. Ancient Youth: The ambiguity of youth and the absence of adolescence in Greco-Roman society, (Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1991, Print). 54

Mark Kleijwegt. Ancient Youth, 50-56.

[7] Beryl Rawson. Children and Childhood in Roman Italy. (London: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print).45

Beryl Rawson. Children and Childhood, 40-47

[8] Beryl Rawson. Children and Childhood in Roman Italy, (London: Oxford University Press, 2003, Print).47

Beryl Rawson. Children and Childhood. 40-47

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