The Female Hunter and other Examples of Change of Sex and Gender on Roman Sarcophaugs Reliefs

This article deals with a small group of Roman sarcophagi with representations of the deceased, where the head is of a different sex than the body. Some of the sarcophagi seem to have been made for the purpose, while others were reused. In the case of the latter, a preference seems to have been shown for sarcophagi where the face of the deceased was merely blocked out and was rendered in paint. The heads in such cases would have furnished enough material to carve out a new face. Both men and women may change their sex, but it is here argued that while a woman could place her head on a male body without any other alterations, the men’s case was different. They generally had to alter the gestures and/or position of the body as well, presumably to avoid the suggestions of passivity which were inherent in many representations of the female