The manly eunuch: masculinity, gender ambiguity, and Christian ideology in late antiquity

Abstract

This text re-visits the Roman Empire during the 3rd and 5th centuries of the common era to look at the question of masculinity as a part of intellectual life and the development of Christian society in late antiquity. Mathew Kuefler argues that the collapse of the Roman army, an increasing autocratic government and growing restrictions on the traditional rights of men within marriage and sexuality all led to a crisis in masculinity. Men who had traditionally felt themselves to be soldiers and heads of households became, by their own definition, unmanly. The cultural and demographic success of Christianity during this era was due to the ability of its leaders to recognize and respond to this crisis. Drawing on the gender ambiguities of early Christian teachings, Christian writers and thinkers crafted a new masculine ideal that took advantage of the changing social realities in Rome, and helped to solidify Christian ideology by reinstating the masculinity of its adherents.