by Jose Fenestra

Created on: January 29, 2011   Last Updated: February 04, 2011

In the book Dying to Be Men, the author has specific themes that relate to the construction of gender in early Christianity. The author, Cobb, defines what it is to truly be a man. She gives different perspectives of different cultures and how they view gender and gender roles. The genders of male and female are not just divided by anatomy.  The author focuses on gender views in Christianity. These views of the past directly affect todays worldly views on gender. These discussions by Cobb help present a better view on other early works of gender in Christianity. 

In early Christianity, people were not divided into male and female based on genitalia. “Interestingly, ancient constructions of sex allowed for more ambiguity, because the terms masculine and feminine, male and female, manly and womanly, described types of individuals, not simply their anatomy” (Cobb 25). However, male genitalia did rank over female genitalia. The vagina was viewed as either an inverted penis, or a removed penis. Another difference is body temperature. Men are generally warmer than females and the warmer animal is normally more active. This excess body heat was said to draw out the genitalia and create a man.  These were not the only factor that divided the two genders though. “

Humans were believed to be composed of both male and female elements” (Cobb 26). All people were placed somewhere in between male and female. This was viewed almost as a spectrum with women at one end and men at the other. Different texts were written to classify gender roles.  “The martyr acts functioned in the christian community as identity-forming texts and, more specifically, that the authors of these texts appropriated Greco-Roman constructions of gender and sex to formulate a set of acceptable christian identities” (Cobb 5). To be masculine was to be a Christian. Females could be masculine as well. “masculine qualities(strength, bravery, sincerity, and honor) can be found in women” ( Cobb 42).

One was thought to be less of a Christian if they possessed more feminine traits. To be a man, one has to have certain characteristics that make them a man. “ Marcus Aurelius, a roman emperor and philosopher, explained that the life reason is comprised of justice, truth, self-control, and manliness” ( Cobb 21). If one possessed these traits along with other things, then they were viewed as a Christian. The Christians believed that

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