Thanks for your addition to the Reames post! Tbh I would have uncritically reblogged the original version but I am so glad you explained the context and justification. As someone who isn't academically versed in classics I wasn't familiar with ancient concepts of sexuality/love, so I also learned something about that! Thanks again. 😊
wow, I’m really glad to hear that! thank you for letting me know, I truly appreciate that!
I added to the post because I felt genuinely, academically perturbed by its insinuations. as someone who studies ancient history, I think it’s very important that we draw that distinction between the modern and ancient. the ancients weren’t “just like us”, and we must respect and appreciate that difference to accurately assess what truths and lessons we can extract from their experience. in the interests of our pursuit of that intangible thing, truth, we must fight against the distortion that our modern biases can bring into the study of an alien past.
it’s also important for us to respect academia as an institution which actively and creatively searches for new meanings and truths, not a dusty old hegemony of self-perpetuating ideas. yes, academia has certain formal conformities (i.e. referencing, academic register, accuracy of terminology, etc.). yes, academics can be challenged. but this challenge must be backed up with evidence. and in the case of evidence for ancient same-sex relationships being equivalent to modern queerness, that is - at least, at this point in time - completely lacking. reames is a historian with great integrity and yes, she can be challenged - but attacking her (perceived) views as opposed to the body of her argument does her a great injustice, especially when she has specifically included those caveats in the interest of academic integrity.
for myself in particular, it’s particularly important to draw that distinction because I am christian and queer. this contextual difference between what has been translated in the new testament as “homosexuality” (there’s actually no greek word for ‘homosexuality’) to what we now understand about sexual orientation today is the strongest point with which I can argue for the validity of my identity in the church.