41. Feminist and Queer Reception of Classical Greco-Roman Corporeality

Rooted in the Greco-Roman classical tradition, the mid-nineteenth century saw considerable developments in the British nude, due in part to the arrival of the Parthenon Marbles in London and increased global presence of the British Empire. From early examples of nude paintings based on classical subject and style, there is a clear objective for artists to emulate the mathematically calculated, idealised proportions of statues from Antiquity. In doing so, the corporeality and sexuality of the, primarily female, bodies depicted become bound within the inanimate containment of a statue; they become unmoving, submissive, and under the jurisdiction the artist and audiences’ gazes, losing their autonomy and individual personhood.

In turn, contemporary artists’ appropriation and reception of the Classics demonstrates a rejection of the containment of perceived female sexuality in statues. Instead, artists, especially queer artists, embrace a dynamic which ‘celebrate[s] bodies as a site of sensing and feeling, a locus of interpretation conditioned by its individual experience’ (Ella Haselswerdt, 2024, 438).

This session invites papers on feminist and queer receptions of classical Greco-Roman corporeality from the mid-nineteenth century to the present-day addressing issues of transness, disability, crip theory, and decoloniality, as well as curatorial approaches and exhibitions from any time period. How has the classical tradition been used to reflect anxieties surrounding feminism, queerness, and atypical bodies? In what ways have interpretations of the classical tradition been used to legitimise the policing of bodies across time and space? How have these corporeal depictions reflected or triggered concerns over the virtuosity of the nation?

Themes: Classical reception, Corporeality, Feminism

Additional format comment: Four 20-minute papers followed by an open Q&A and discussion with panel members and audience.

Lead Convenor:  Alex McLachlan Bourke, University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom

Co-convenors: Alex Lednicky, University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom

To submit a Paper to this Session, please follow the guidance on our website and complete the AAH 2027 Call for Papers Proposal Submission Form.