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J Archaeol Method Theory (2016) 23:810831 DOI 10.1007/s10816-016-9288-9
Uro Mati1
Published online: 15 July 2016# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract The representations of Egyptian female king Hatshepsut are, as a consequence of a binary heteronormative sex/gender bind, continuously queered in scholarship. Statements on her body and identity are often made by directly equating her representations with the corporeal. This paper offers a critique of the heteronormative interpretations of Hatshepsut, which often identify her as a cross-dresser, gender-bender or Bwoman with a beard.^ An alternative approach will be attempted with the discussion of her imagery in the context of queer and Actor Network theoretical encounters. This paper argues that the binary bind of the sex/gender system can be traversed through a complex network of actants, including bodies, ancestors, relatives, gods, and material culture.
Keywords Hatshepsut . Sex/gender. Binary bind . Heteronormativity. Queer theory. Actor Network Theory
Introduction
In archaeology, the Bbinary bind^ is a term that can refer to two different but seemingly related concepts. The first is an assumption regarding the existence of a binary (male female) gender system in a certain society, which is often taken to be a fixed, natural, and normal division of bodies. Modern interpretations of what constitutes an appropriate male or female body are transferred onto past societies, at the same time excluding and silencing bodies considered to be Other both now and then. This is the case with many archaeological studies lacking gender awareness. The second concept derives from second-wave feminist criticism. It defines sex as the biological division of male
* Uro Mati [email protected]
1 Institut fr gyptologie und Koptologie, Westflische Wilhelms-Universitt Mnster, Mnster,
Germany
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10816-016-9288-9&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10816-016-9288-9&domain=pdf
Web End = (De)queering Hatshepsut: Binary Bind in Archaeology of Egypt and Kingship Beyond the Corporeal
(De)queering Hatshepsut: Binary Bind in Archaeology of Egypt 811
and female bodies (differences in chromosomes, sex organs, hormones, and other physical features) and gender as the socio-cultural interpretation (e.g., social role, status, identity) of these biological differences (Daz-Andreu 2005: 1415; Gilchrist 1999: 9; Rubin 1997; Srensen 2000: 18). The fixity, naturality, and normality of a binary malefemale gender system and the division of sex as biological and gender as cultural have been criticized in queer theory and argued to be...