Naked Wrestling by Women in Plato’s Republic
by David W.
The treatment of women in Plato’s dialogue The Republic has been called “a rare exception in western philosophy’s long history of sexist denigration of women”, due the claim made by the character of Socrates, that women are as capable of becoming guardians of the republic as men are. To justify his demand that women receive the same education as men, Socrates remarks that “if we use men and women for the same purposes, we must teach them the same things” (452a), which of course includes the physical education that Plato believes to be of very high importance for the training of the guardians. This suggestion raises an important challenge to the equal status of women in the republic: the inherent hilarity of seeing men and women wrestling each other whilst being naked.
The necessity of doing this excercise in the nude is addressed elsewhere in The Republic, when Socrates states in reference to the Cretans and Spartans, who were the first to try naked wrestling, that “experience showed […] that it was better to strip than to wrap [..] up” (452d). As Socrates points out, these naked excercises were considered hilarious as well when they first started, but have since lost their novelty and are now accepted in greek society as being perfectly normal. It follows therefore, that although because naked wrestling of women might be funny to some, its comedic value does not pose a serious threat to the importance (and utility) of female equality. Socrates dismisses a similar line of criticism, which focuses on the horrors of seeing older women with wrinkled bodies excercising naked in the gym, for the same reason.
Although it is plausible to assume, that society will accustom enough to the naked wrestling between men and women to stop finding it too funny to be a serious part of physical education, I think it is worth considering that the act might be sexy enough to challenge Plato’s disdain of the sexual appetite and his intention to restrain it to the act of reproduction in the republic. The young students, full of youthful hormones and sexual urges, might be titillated by the naked wrestling and tempted to begin a private sex life, which would mark a breach against the laws of the republic. The naked wrestling with women, although necessary for the status of women in the republic and, more importantly to Plato, for their use towards the wellbeing of the city, might become a divisive force inside that city and sustain private social interactions which Plato wishes to abolish.
