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Desire and Its Discontents in Apuleius' Golden Ass: Exploring Gender and Sexuality

This analysis delves into the complex themes of desire, gender, and sexuality within Apuleius' *The Golden Ass*. It examines the notion of sexual universality, questioning if the priests of the Syrian Goddess can be considered "gay" through the lens of ancient texts. Key narratives reveal how Apuleius portrays masculinity, femininity, and the spectrum of sexual identities, reflecting broader social norms and traditions. The discussion also highlights the transformation of Lucius, which serves as a metaphor for understanding diverse perspectives on gender and the quest for empathy in a historically charged context.

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Desire and Its Discontents in Apuleius' Golden Ass: Exploring Gender and Sexuality

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  1. Apuleius’ Golden Ass Desire and its Discontents 3

  2. Agenda • Sexual Universality? • The Priests of the Syrian Goddess • Recap and Update • A Reprobate Redeemed • Gender in Apuleius • Tradition and Normativity? Diversity and Empathy? Golden Ass 3

  3. Sexual Universality? The Priests of the Syrian Goddess

  4. Are They “Gay”? (What is Salient?) “… he [Philebus] was a real old queen (cinaedum)” (pp. 141) “ ‘Look, girls (puellae),at the pretty slave [Lucius] I’ve bought.’ [… the others] saying that this wasn’t a servant ... but a husband (non enim seruum, sed maritum) for himself” (p. 143) “… these effeminates (semivirisillis)...” (p. 144) Dea Syria

  5. Discussion Golden Ass 3

  6. Recap and Update A Reprobate Redeemed

  7. Story Arc • Lucius curiosus (bks 1–3) • wants to see magic Meroe • watches, turns into an ass • Lucius asinus (bks 3–10) • abusive treatment, fortune comes to the fore • Lucius initiatus (bk 11) • ?? Golden Ass 3

  8. reunion,reconciliation,apotheosis marriage,temptation trials, slavery restoration,conversion Narrative-Thematic Arcs temptation,transformation Psyche Psyche Lucius Slavery, sexual performance, humiliation

  9. more pleasure Pleasure Arc • “Give me your ear, reader, you will enjoy yourself (laetaberis)” (p. 7) • “… and when her time came there was born to them a daughter, whom we call Pleasure (Voluptatem).” (p. 106) • “… you lowered yourself to servile pleasures (servilesvoluptates) and reaped a bitter reward for your ill-starred curiosity (curiositatisinprosperae)” (p. 203) • “I entered joyfully (gaudensobibam) on my duties as a member of this ancient college, founded in the time of Sulla” Golden Ass 3

  10. Gender in Apuleius Tradition and Normativity? Diversity and Empathy?

  11. Gender in Apuleius Men Women Golden Ass 3

  12. Finnis v. Nussbaum Finnis Nussbaum Greek texts “force us to confront the fact that much of what we consider necessary and natural in our own practices is actually local and nonuniversal” (1518–19), whence empathy for difference “… thoughts which have historically been implicit in the judgments of many non-philosophical people, and which have been held to justify the laws adopted in many nations and states” before and after the advent of Christianity (1063). Golden Ass 3

  13. Discussion Golden Ass 3

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