I never thought to ask how often men think about Ancient Rome, but apparently it is a hot topic over on TikTok, started by a Swedish Roman re-enactor. Not being on TikTok myself, I came across it in this WaPo article (no paywall).
Now, I think of Ancient Rome many times a day, but I am a Classicist and Latin teacher, so I think about it for a living. But apparently, in the general populace, there’s a gender split in how often people think about it and men think about it a lot. As WaPo says:
But why does there seem to be a gender divide in who is daydreaming about ancient Rome today?
According to historians, one explanation could be that Western societies have historically overemphasized the aspects of Roman history that are associated with masculinity in the popular imagination.
As one historian they quoted says,
“But it was also a diverse place: there were numerous forms of masculinity, women could have agency and power, and there were multiple gender expressions and identities, as well as various sexualities.”
The article is a fun read, especially if you too think about Ancient Rome on a regular basis. Or perhaps a WTF moment if you don’t.
Ramblings 
