A Feminist and Queer Theory Take on the Legitimization of Hatshepsut as King
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Abstract
This paper considers a Western white male bias of ancient Egyptian custom and culture, and more specifically King Hatshepsut, Pharaoh and Co-regent of Eighteenth Dynasty ancient Egypt. Western anthropologists have routinely and incorrectly labeled Hatshepsut as queer because of her masculinized political character. These accusations are rooted in a traditional Western belief in a male-female gender binary system, and these beliefs have been applied to a culture that does not recognize the same understanding of gender, sex, and sexuality. Further, I discuss the myriad ways in which Hatshepsut legitimized her rule, including her political manipulation of masculinity, her proclamation of ancestral and divine lineage, the artistic commissions of herself and of Thutmose III - her co-regent, stepson, and nephew, and her strength as a military leader.
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