A British museum will relabel its display about a Roman emperor after concluding he was a transgender woman. BBC News reported North Hertfordshire Museum will now refer to Roman emperor Elagabalus with female pronouns. It comes after classical texts determined Elagabalus said “call me not Lord, for I am a Lady.”A North Hertfordshire Museum spokesperson said it was “only polite and respectful to be sensitive to identifying pronouns for people in the past.”North Hertfordshire Museum has one coin of Elagabalus, which is often displayed among other sexual minority items in its collection. It said it consulted with British sexual minority charity Stonewall to ensure displays, publicity and talks are updated and inclusive. He ruled the Roman Empire for four years from 218 until his assassination at 18 years old in 222. He became a controversial figure during his reign, developing a reputation for promiscuity. Roman Senator Cassius Dio wrote in his historical chronicles he was married five times — four times to women and once to former slave Hiercoles. In this final marriage, Dio said he was bestowed in marriage and recognized as a wife, mistress and queen. The debate of Elagabalus’ gender identity is lengthy and often splits academics. “The words Dio uses are not a direct quote from Elagabalus and at the time of writing, the emperor would have been in his early teenage years,” said Cambridge University classics professor Shushma Malik. “There are many examples in Roman literature of times where effeminate language and words were used as a a way of criticizing or weakening a political figure.”Malik said references to him wearing makeup, wigs and removing body hair might have been written to undermine support for him. While Romans were aware of gender fluidity, she said there are examples of pronouns being changed in literature and used to describe myth and religion rather than living people. North Herts Council Enterprise and Arts Executive Member Keith Hoskins said texts such as Dio’s provide evidence Elagabalus preferred female pronouns and is a topic people must reflect on when discussing him in contemporary times. “We know that Elagabalus identified as a woman and was explicit about which pronouns to use, which shows that pronouns are not a new thing,” said Hoskins.
