Preliminary Programme

In 54BC, Cicero defended his client Cn. Plancius against an allegation of rape, noting that it was common for young men to treat actresses as sexual objects rather than respectable women. Upper class Roman society would naturally view an actress as disreputable and hence susceptible to assault of both a physical and verbal nature. Authors as wide-ranging as Cicero, Juvenal, and Plutarch record the contemptible nature of lower-class women. Yet the view these women held of themselves was different to the image upper class men portrayed in their writings. Lower class women worked because it was necessary, and this ensured they were considered beneath their noble counterparts. Using examples of women who were entertainers and actresses (and therefore considered akin to prostitutes), as well as women who worked in manufacturing industries, this paper will reveal the bias the upper classes held against women who were not their social equal. It will show that while some occupations were considered disreputable, many lower class women were sufficiently proud of their occupation to record it, both during their lifetime and after their death. (Show less)