gender structures and roles: Egypt Women also served an important function in the religious affairs of ancient African communities Many of these communities practiced ancestor worship This meant that dead ancestors continued to play a role in the affairs of the community They attained mythic significance, and the link between the living and dead fostered social harmony and the transmittal of values from one generation to the next Although men often functioned as the shamans who mediated between the living and the dead, in many tribes women fulfi lled this function And while some tribes emphasized worship of male ancestors, many accorded equal worship to both male and female ancestors, particularly a deceased mother or grandmother A common practice that dates back at least 4,000 years is female circumcision, or the surgical removal of the young woman’s clitoris This practiced was followed not only in ancient Egypt but also among numerous other communities, including the Nubians, the Ethiopians, and people in communities along the Sahel, or the region just to the south of the Sahara Desert The practice had a number of purposes One was to “mark” the girl, making her less than perfect so that the gods did not reclaim her; ear piercing had a similar function Another was to bind the woman to the patrilineal clan into which she married by ensuring her virginity and marital faithfulness, for her circumcision was inspected by the groom’s female relatives A circumcised woman was thought to be more docile and obedient, ready to assume her place in the family Yet another purpose was to affirm the belief that circumcision, of both men and women, purified people for the next generation EGYPT BY EMILY JANE O’DELL Any discussion of gender must first admit that categories of gender and gender expression are largely constructed by the society and culture from which they spring Gender is usually defined in relation to biological sexual differences; however, there are many different types of intersexuality While the numbers of genders in a society can vary across cultures, ancient Egypt recognized female and male gender, and these genders were correlated with biological sexual differences between men and women However, before the law, men and women were equal Both men and women could inherit and dispose of property as free agents, testify in court, initiate divorce, and participate in business contracts Royal women enjoyed a great deal of prestige, privilege, and power Theoretically, the throne in ancient Egypt passed through the women of the royal family Some of the pharaohs married members of their own family to claim a throne, and many other pharaohs married princesses in order to ally with the royal family While a royal woman could have only one husband, a king could have multiple wives and concubines In the Old Kingdom (2575–2134 b.c.e.) royal wives, mothers, and daughters held administrative positions as well as reli- 495 gious positions, such as priestesses of Thoth or Hathor The kingship, however, was not restricted to men While the large majority of pharaohs were men, there were also a handful of female kings, such as Sebeknefru (r ca 1787–1783 b.c.e.) and Hatshepsut (r ca 1473–1458 b.c.e.) When ruling the country, these women were seen as “kings,” not queens Many queens, however, ruled as regents for their husbands or children Male kings built majestic and large burial places for their prominent queens, such as the tomb of Nefertari (wife of Ramses II) in the Valley of the Queens Many queens, such as Queen Ahhotep (of the Seventeenth Dynasty) and Queen Ahmose-Nefertari (of the Eighteenth Dynasty), were venerated long after their deaths While women were denied many of the key positions in the state’s bureaucracy, they did attempt to assert their authority through other means For example, several conspiracies against the king were instigated by queens, and harem conspiracies arose during the reigns of Pepi I (r ca 2289–2255 b.c.e.), Amenemhet I (r ca 1991–1962 b.c.e.), and Ramses III (r ca 1194–1163 b.c.e.) While men and women were equal in terms of legal rights, men held more positions in the clergy and state bureaucracy Men and women received equal wages for their jobs While men dominated the bureaucracy, women held many different jobs, such as selling products and food in the marketplace, harvesting crops, gathering and winnowing wheat and flax, grinding grain and baking, weaving, brewing beer, making perfume, and participating in the compulsory, temporary state labor service Women could also serve as supervisors over these activities Men were field laborers as well but could also be butchers or jewelers; some men made furniture, leather products, and sculpture In many lines of work, a woman could also inherit her father’s position However, men dominated government positions because these jobs required literacy While there were most likely elite, literate women as well, they would have been the exception While women in the Old Kingdom did hold administrative positions, they seem to have worked for high-ranking women, not the general state bureaucracy During the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt, musicians and dancers were primarily women, but after the end of the Old Kingdom men performed as musicians and dancers at private parties, festivals, and religious ceremonies During the reign of Ramses III, women participated in the first work strike in history in support of their civil servant husbands Women were also in charge of managing the household and the family After the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 b.c.e.) they had the title “mistress of the house.” They were responsible for raising the children, and the royal family also employed royal wet nurses and tutors for the royal children In ancient Egyptian mythology there were both male gods and female goddesses Some gods and goddesses had qualities that were peculiar to their gender, such as childbearing, but others had qualities that were uncharacteristic of their gender For example, the goddess Neith was a goddess of war, yet women in ancient Egypt did not participate in war-