Catamite: Difference between revisions
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Catamites, in ancient Greece, were the passive third gender partners, usually younger, that some men kept. It has the same connotations as a Berdache or a Ladyboy in other cultures.<ref>[http://www.memrise.com/item/77170/third-gender-catamite/]</ref><ref>http://transprov.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/simple-list-of-third-gender-and-gender-variant-groups/ List of third gender and gender variant groups</ref><ref>[http://gendertree.com/Eunuch.htm Gender Tree] Quote: Suetonius said of the emperor Titus that "he was suspected of excess; and likewise of lust because of his crowds of catamites and eunuchs."</ref> |
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Although, when seen from the western concept of 'homosexuality' which doesn't recognize 'gender orientation' or 'third gender, catamite appears to be just the younger boy in a [[Pederasty|pederastic]] relationship between a man and a boy, without any gender connotations, and indeed Catamite has been used in modern English for a young boy kept by a man for sexual gratification, esp. by gay authors. However, the ancients and the contemporary non-western cultures make a strict distinction between 'men' and '[[third gender]]s' (non-men males; males with a female orientation). |
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That a non-effeminate boy in a relationship with an older man will not be called 'Catamite' is clear from the fact that pedarasty was a normal, acceptable and honorable part of Greek culture that most boys took part in -- and it was customary for the boys to assume the passive role. However, Catamite is an extremely negative, derogatory and even abusive term that has exactly the same connotation as the terms related with 'third gender' in most other cultures, past or present. It is also very similar to the stigma against 'homosexual' found in modern West, which often has connotations of being 'not man enough' or being 'sissy.'<ref>[http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3120.htm definition of Malakos] </ref><ref>[http://rictornorton.co.uk/social09.htm Passive Roles] A Critique of Social Constructionism and Post modernism Queer theories, by Rictor Norton; Quote: "... in ancient Rome, for example, homosexuality in itself was not a problem, but that the problem (i.e. an issue given great consideration) concerned taking the ‘passive’ role in male–male sexual relations (i.e. being penetrated). Thus, for example, there is no term for the active (i.e. penetrating) partner in this relationship; he is simply a man, whereas his passive partner is a catamitus.</ref><ref>[http://staff.jccc.net/scorbett01/ch8/zuni_berdache.htm Zuni Berdaches]Quote: "The Oxford English Dictionary, for example, while providing the familiar zoological and botanical definitions, also defines hermaphrodite as "an effeminate man or virile woman, a catamite," and "a person or thing in which any two opposite attributes or qualities are combined."</ref> It is also clear that as against what is being sought to portray about Catamites in certain sections of the gay community, Catamites did not exactly refer to 'boys' in relationships with men -- since even adult effeminate priests have been referred to as Catamites.<ref>[http://faculty.vassar.edu/jolott/clas217/projects/gender_in_apuleius/catamites.html Homosexuality, Passivity and the Catamite Priests] </ref> <ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=F0XCGyJ2YUcC&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=catamite+malakos&source=bl&ots=hObHs8bxA5&sig=d-HW3thrX2rDU6sjK9x51t0hYok&hl=en&ei=l9sRTvaOMoWDtgeYxoj0DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAjge#v=onepage&q&f=false God Is Not a Homophobe: An Unbiased Look at Homosexuality in the Bible |
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By Philo Thelos]Quote, page 74: "The word malakoi is discussed as follows, in The complete Biblical Library, Greek-English Dictionary, (word # 3092). |
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'Soft. This is the word for "soft" or "soft to the touch." The Greek, malakos, is used (1) of things, such as clothes, and (2) of persons, especially to denote catamites, those who allow themselves passively to be used homosexually."</ref>It is obvious, that this negative term was never used for non-effeminate, non-third gender male youths or adults, nor for other non-effeminate males (like slaves; it was unacceptable for a non-slave adult man to play the passive part) who had sexual relationships with men, even if they played the passive part. |
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The word ''catamite'' is derived from the [[Latin]] ''catamitus'', itself borrowed from the [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] ''catmite'', related to the [[Greek language|Greek]] [[Ganymede (mythology)|''Ganymedes'']], the effeminate youth who was seduced by [[Zeus]], and became his beloved and [[cup-bearer]] in [[Greek mythology]].<ref>[[AMHER]] (2000), ''catamite'', p. 291</ref> |
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==See also== |
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{{wiktionary|catamite}} |
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*[[Sexuality in ancient Rome]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category:Sexuality and society]] |
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[[Category:Sexual orientation and society]] |
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[[Category:Pederasty]] |
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{{Ancient-Rome-stub}} |
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[[ast:Catamita]] |
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[[br:Katamit]] |
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[[ca:Catamita]] |
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[[es:Catamita]] |
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[[pt:Catamita]] |
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