Internationalizing Gender

I always find this topic very interesting. One of the biggest aspects of this concept is the history of the Amazons and Boudicca. For the Amazons, I think that it is such a reversal of roles compared to the Greek Mythology that surrounds them. For those unfamiliar with the Amazons, they are a tribe of women that prided themselves on being warriors. This is usually compared to Wonderwoman, which is slightly based on the concept of the Amazons. The fact that these women totally reversed the concept of what we see women as today, is baffling to me. To the Greeks as well, they were seen as something to conquer by men. Especially in their myths, the Amazon women must be conquered by Greek patriarchy. They are seen as otherworldly but still beneath them. However, I think these is a great example of internationalizing gender because it shows how others can visualize and interpret gender stereotypes. While I think the Greeks understood the Amazons, I think that they were unwilling to accept them or learn from them in a productive way. They still saw them as more of a threat and not normal for their society.

I also think about the concept of the relationship between the Romans and Boudicca. Boudicca was a British Queen when Roman rule was dominated in Great Britain. She happens to be one of the few things that I remember from Latin in high school. When worng-doings were occurring against her people, she lead them to fight against the Roman Empire. This woman leader was able to lead an army of guerilla warfare against one of the most advanced armies of its time and beat them on more than one occasion. This internationalization of gender made the Romans believe that a woman was unable to disrupt the power of a woman's army. The expectations allowed Boudicca to become a historic figure in the Roman Empire. Without these stereotypes, history and war would be completely different.