Masculinities and Third Gender (AOAT 435) (original) (raw)

Peled, Ilan. 2016. Masculinities and Third Gender: The Origins and Nature of an Institutionalized Gender Otherness in the Ancient Near East (Alter Orient und Altes Testament, vol. 435). Münster: Ugarit-Verlag. The aim of this book is to track a distinct human phenomenon in the history of the ancient Near East: persons who were born males, but under various social and historical circumstances their masculine identity was considered to be ambiguous. On the basis of this, these persons can be classified as belonging to a third gender They bore specific titles, and were engaged in cult or palace administration. The contexts of their documentation occasionally depict them as possessing or exhibiting traits that were uncharacteristic of the standard social expectations of men in Mesopotamia. The terms that describe these persons were grouped in numerous lexical lists, which supply us with the frame and boundaries of the present research. To a lesser extent, the grouping of these persons is apparent in narrative and literary compositions. The most notable of these titles were gala/kalû, assinnu, kurgarrû and lú-sag / ša rēši. Other similar titles that were documented less frequently were kulu’u, girseqû,tīru, SAG-UR-SAG, pilpilû, nāš pilaqqi, sinnišānu and parû. Their sexual and gender ambiguity was realized in numerous and diverse manners. Occasionally, it bore a clear physiological form, in the shape of castration; sometimes its attributes were external, such as cross-dressing; in other cases, it became apparent through typically feminine behavioral patterns, such as dancing, singing or lamenting. Last but not least, lack of procreativity constituted another form of gender ambiguity, as it contradicted one of the most important gender functionalities of people in the ancient Near East: the siring of offspring. Hence, the common denominator of all these figures appears to have been flawed manliness. Effeminacy was not necessarily the key factor in this case, as some of these figures seem to have been rather masculine. It was sufficient that these persons deviated enough from the customary model of ancient Near Eastern masculinity, in order to be considered as part of this third gender class. The concepts of social “otherness” are essential for demarcating social borders, which, in turn, define patterns of normative social conduct. The present research demonstrated that this human phenomenon of a third gender in the ancient Near East involved mainly the matter of social definitions. Social identity is defined by its limitations: where it begins and ends, and what exists beyond it. The strange, the extreme and the bizarre signify what common, hegemonic, people are not, and therefore mark who common, hegemonic, people actually are. These boundaries are constructed by using social mechanisms of norms and prohibitions. In this sense, the third gender figures were socially constructed, and served social needs of defining norms of conformity. Table of Contents: Introduction 1. Aims, Scope, Methodology and Structure of the Book 2. Third Gender: Ambiguous Masculinity and Social Conformity 3. Male Third Gender Figures in the Ancient Near East: History of Research 4. The Formation of Masculinity (and Femininity): Theoretical Perspectives 5. The Features of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Ancient Near East Chapter 1: Mesopotamian Narrative and Hymnic Text Introduction 1. Inanna/Ištar’s Descent to the Netherworld 2. The Fashioning of the gala 3. Inanna and Ebiḫ 4. Inanna and Enki 5. Lady of Largest Heart 6. This City, which Has Been Looted 7. The Epic of Erra 8. A Myth of Dumuzi 9. Enki and Ninmaḫ 10. Gilgameš and Aga 11. The Curse of Akkad 12. The Lament for Eridu 13. The Debate between Grain and Sheep Chapter 2: gala, kalû and kulu’u Introduction 1. gala/kalû and gala-maḫ/kalamāḫu 2. kulu’u Chapter 3: assinnu and kurgarrû Introduction 1. assinnu and kurgarrû in Lexical Lists 2. assinnu and kurgarrû in Administrative and Historical Texts 3. assinnu and Prophecy in Mari and the Ancient Near East 4. assinnu and kurgarrû in Cultic Texts 5. assinnu and kurgarrû in Narrative Texts 6. assinnu and kurgarrû in Omen, Ritual and Incantation Texts Chapter 4: lú-sag / ša rēši and Castration in the Ancient Near East Introduction 1. lú-sag / ša rēši: Brief Chronological Survey of the Titles 2. lú-sag / ša rēši: The Evidence of Castration 3. Castration from Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives Chapter 5: Less Known Third Gender Figures Introduction 1. girseqû 2. tiru/tīru 3. SAG-UR-SAG 4. pi-li-pi-li/pilpilû 5. sinnišānu 6. nāš pilaqqi 7. parû Summary and Conclusions 1. Summaries and Conclusions of Individual Chapters 2. Internal Division to Sub-Categories within the Third Gender 3. Masculinities and Third Gender in the Wider Context:Castration, Homosexuality and Cultic Performance 4. Third Gender and Hegemonic and Subordinate Masculinities 5. In Conclusion: Why Third Gender? Bibliography Indices