Public Validation of Gender in Euripides’ "The Bacchae"

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This distinction between men and women is emphasized in Euripides’ The Bacchae. It is the women, and not the men, who are allured to follow Dionysus and practice his rituals: dancing, drinking, etc. It is seen as problematic to Pentheus and something must be done: “Women are laving home / to follow Bacchus, they say, to honor him in sacred rites. / Our women run wild upon the wooded hills, dancing to honor this new God, Bacchus, whoever he is” (215-218). There is a sense of lost, a need to retrieve the women, and return them to their place. “Our women run wild” creates the comparison of what their women would do amongst men and their society, as well as a sense of possession of the women (217). Agave recognizes the freedom from her daily confinements of her home when amongst the Bacchantes: “I quit my shuttle at the loom / for a higher calling, the hunting of wild beasts / with my bare hands” (1214-1218). There is a contrast of sitting behind the machine, the loom, and creating, or in this case destroying, by her own hands. Is it this contrast what drives the women of Thebes towards Dionysus? For what better creates a feeling of accomplishment then achieving a finished product by one’s power alone? The women are consequently pushed towards Dionysus because of the freedom he offers.

Yet isn’t a need for feeling accomplished found in both genders? Why are the two sexes divided? What is Euripides achieving through this division? Yet, “Wait are we the only men in Thebes to follow Bacchus?” (196). Cadmus and Tiresias question why they are the only male representatives in the Bacchantes. What opens the pathway for these two men to pursue a, by standard, feminine outlet.

It is not necessary to be a female to follow Bacchus, but it is n...

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... man? We couldn’t stop laughing at the ridiculousness of it because Olivia was by far more feminine that I. And then it hit me! Sitting in the passenger seat, without her dress and boots visible from any onlookers, it was her hair that all could see. Long hair which is one of the most recognizable feminine traits was lacking. Her hair, maybe achieved two inches in length, creating a more masculine profile. She may not have seen such a trim as a masculine act but others, obviously had.

Gender is not solely taught. It is perceived labeled and in some cases adopted. Gender recognition is taught through contrast. Unconsciously as I walk the streets of New York City, I mentally label everyone who walks by me. Yet I pause and acknowledge those who are less instinctively male or female (masculine or feminine). A man with long fine hair comes off to me as more effeminate.

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