by Horatius Piscinus on Tue Aug 31, 2004 1:30 pm
Salve Attice
The Romans used different terms for men and women, depending on the roles that they took in any relationship, heterosexual as well as homosexual. A male might be called femina but that does not refer to his sexual activities, where cinaedus, catamitus, pathicus were general terms used of male homosexuals, all derogatory, and there were more offensive terms, such as referring to a man as a cunnus, and a ceuulus referred to a male by the manner in which he would move like a woman during intercourse. There were a number of terms that referred to the parts of the body, used as euphanisms for the whole person, like calling a person an "ass" but implying more, as in using verpa rather than mentula in reference to a pedicator or irrumator. Different terms are found for one receiving as oposed to one giving any form of sexual activity, and whether accepting or forcing it upon someone. Women who took the role of a man were called tribades or a woman could be referred to as a landicosa, meaning a swollen and protruding clitoris, and that could just mean she was lustful rather than homosexual. While there were other terms for the woman who took the female role in a lesbian relationship, these took the male perspective of her as being loose or spent. The terms were used in grafitti, not often in texts, and it is a matter of guesswork as to what some of the terms mean or from what they are derived. You would have to get a special lexicon because some of the terms are technical and won't appear in most dictionaries, or would appear but without their sexual connotations explained.
M Horatius Piscinus
Sapere aude!