Boats are for boys: queering maritime archaeology

Abstract

From the masculine struggles of ancient and historic seafaring to the demands and Boys' Own, action man ethos of shipwreck archaeology, maritime archaeology remains entrenched in the Western, androcentric, dualistic, heteronormative paradigm. Just as boat-building, sailing, fishing, trading, exploring and colonizing are prescribed as male activities (and male according to modern, Western constructs), maritime archaeology remains masculine in its approach, techniques and interpretation. By failing to acknowledge this, maritime archaeologists are restricting their reconstructions of past maritime societies. Moreover, they are further maintaining the perception of maritime archaeology as having a minor, subsidiary role within the wider discipline of archaeology. Consequently, there is a need for more rigorous and reflexive archaeological interpretation, for the production of self-critical, social archaeologies and for the queering of maritime archaeology.

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