ABSTRACT
Plato was the first feminist. Women were the same as men, only-in generalnot so good. But though women were on average less strong and generally less good than men, that was only a generalisation, which did not hold in every case. Some women were just as good, indeed better, than some men (V 455d). Whether a particular woman was suited to a particular task should be decided on the merits of the case, not on any general assumptions about woman-kind as a whole. There was no fundamental differences between the sexes which unfitted women from useful toil. The guardians were to rise above their sexual prejudices. They might feel that the sight of old women exercising in the nude was ridiculous, but that was only a matter of custom, and should be overcome (V 452). It was a waste of woman-power to seclude women in their homes, when they could be performing useful tasks in the factory or the office. Women should be used, just as men were, for the benefit of the community. They should exercise the same as men, be educated the same as men, go to war the same as men, and generally be treated exactly the same, except that not so much should be expected of them (V 457al0). Differentiation in treatment between one guardian and another should be based on difference of talent, not on difference of sex (VII 540c5-9). The only function sex was relevant for was the breeding of children (V 454de). In modern terms Plato holds that while a guardian’s chromosomes are highly relevant to his suitability for various social roles, the possession of a Y-chromosome rather than a second X-chromosome is not.
