Abstract

The Cynics were radically anti-conventional Greek philosophers who held egalitarian views about gender. They are also associated with extremely misogynistic anecdotes. How can one square this tension? I argue we must look to their ethical naturalism, on the basis of which they opposed convention, culture, and all that smacks of superficiality. This, combined with a longstanding stereotype about ‘feminine artifice’, explains (but does not justify) Cynic hostility toward the feminine.