#without being seen as 'wimps' or 'sissies' for it. violence was acceptable but showing emotional attachment wasn't | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

just-late-roman-republic-things · 5 months

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I'm not fond of Hadrian, at all, but even I was struck by this - that his contemporaries didn't criticize him for a relationship with his slave boy, but for grieving too much when the boy died.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around how fucking (or raping) a slave could be socially acceptable, but actually caring about him wasn't.

(Craig Williams, Roman Homosexuality, chapter 1)

#i wonder if roman mores contributed to the suppression of grief among men in western cultures today #i've known a lot of guys who turned to substance abuse or self-harm because they couldn't openly express their sadness/fear/grief #without being seen as 'wimps' or 'sissies' for it. violence was acceptable but showing emotional attachment wasn't #whereas the happiest guys i know are those who can talk about their sadness and have friends who accept it #emperor hadrian #antinous #roman homosexuality #craig williams #jlrrt reads #rape mention

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