Native Ideas on Gender

Gender in Egypt held a number of commonalities with that of other ancient Mediterranean cultures.  It is traditionally divided into men (s)--strong, active, & agressive--& women (ḥmt)--weak, passive, & submissive--based on secondary sex characteristics; there is evidence noted by a number of Egyptologists for a third gender-category, eunuchs (sḫt), which may have been recognised in Pharoanic Egypt (Graves-Brown).  Ancient Egypt was always a patriarchal & phallocentric society, where women, in general, were relegated to the home & excluded from most opportunities.  However, Egypt was unique in many respects.

Despite the myriad imposed limitations, women had what may seem a surprising number of opportunities to better or enrich their lives, within & without the home.  Although only men could achieve positions in the administration, as priests, scribes, & in most forms of physical labour (i.e., fishing, sculpting, construction, warfare), there were a number of positions open to women.  The title most commonly held by women was that of 'Mistress of the House' (nbt-pr), which denoted more than simply raising the children & preparing meals, rather entailing the whole running of a household--hiring & firing servants, keeping records, etc.  In the home, women also wove & ground grain, both of which they could sell for an additional income (ibid.).

Women were afforded the same legal rights as men; they could buy, sell, or rent property; sue another in court; & women frequently participated in trade at market.  Prohibited from priesthood, in the Old Kingdom women served as priestesses for the goddesses Hathor & Neith, but by the New Kingdom (c. 1600 - 1000 bce) were limited to serving as a chantress (Sabbahy).  There are notable exceptions, also, of the rare woman scribe, judge, & even vizier.  A few women were wealthy enough to purchase their own slaves.  A number of careers were undertaken by both men & women, for example as cultic singers, household servants, musicians, & even conscription (ibid.).

Egyptians, unlike the vast majority of ancient societies, did not have an apparent preference for boys over girls; rather, as remarks first-century BCE historian Diodorus Siculus, Egyptians raised all of their children--however, only sons could inherit a father's career (ibid.).  Egypt also avoided the practice of exposing unwanted children, commonplace in Greece & Rome.