Sandra Boehringer

Sandra Boehringer
Boehringer in 2024
Born1972 (age 53–54)
Casablanca, Morocco
CitizenshipFrance
Academic background
EducationSchool for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (PhD)
Luc Brisson
Academic work
DisciplineHistorian
Sub-discipline
Ancient Greece, sexuality
InstitutionsUniversity of Strasbourg
Notable works
L'homosexualité féminine dans l'Antiquité grecque et romaine (2007)

Sandra Boehringer (born 1972) is a French historian, writer and educator who specialises in the history of sexuality, women and gender in classical Greece.

Biography

Boehringer was born in 1972 in Casablanca, Morocco. Boehringer took the Agrégation de Lettres classiques examination in 1996.[1] She studied at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, where her PhD was supervised by Luc Brisson, graduating in 2003.[1]

Boehringer's first publication explored the life and work of Dika, a student of the Ancient Greek lyric poet Sappho.[2]

In 2007, Boehringer's book L'homosexualité féminine dans l'Antiquité grecque et romaine (Female homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome)[3] was published by French publisher Les Belles Lettres, who are known for publishing Greek and Latin classics. The work is based on her PhD thesis and "argues for the presence of an ancient Greek and Roman discourse about female–female sexual behaviour".[4] It has been translated into English by Anna Perger in 2021.[5][6]

Weeks after the book's release, Michel Desgranges, chairman of the publisher, wrote an op-ed criticizing the publication as "feminist propaganda". In his opinion, gender studies were an American import that undermined the study of history of sexuality, and the book itself made a mockery of Foucault's work. Desgranges' successor as CEO, Caroline Noirot removed the text from the Belles Lettres' website.[7] Boehringer faced criticism while writing the book itself, including from peers such as Danielle Gourevitch who felt that the book "siding with homosexuality" might contribute to "the destruction of society".

In her 2021, Jessica Wright noted that while the book was significant in the field, its use of the term "homosexuality" was somewhat outdated, focusing on relationships between people assigned female at birth, leaving less space for gender expression.[8]

Boehringer has also published on French philosopher Michel Foucault.[9][10]

Boehringer is a lecturer in Greek history at the University of Strasbourg.[11][12] She is an associate member of ANHIMA (French: Anthropologie et Histoire des Mondes Antiques).[1][13]

Select publications

  • Dika, élève de Sappho, Lesbos, 600 av. J.C, Paris: Éditions Autrement, 1999.[2]
  • L'homosexualité féminine dans l'Antiquité grecque et romaine, Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2007, preface by David Halperin.[7]
    • Translated into English as: Female homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome, 2021, by Anna Perger.[5][6]
  • Foucault, la Sexualité, l'Antiquité, co-edited with Daniele Lorenzini, Paris: Éditions Kimé, 2016.[9]
    • Translated into English as: Foucault, Sexuality, Antiquity, London: Routledge, 2022.[10]
  • La Sexualité antique, une histoire moderne, Paris: Éditions Epel, 2025.[14]

Boehringer has also contributed to the Oxford Classical Dictionary on the topic of "female homosexuality."[15] She is a member of the reading committees of the academic journals Clio, Genre, sexualité & société, and Interrogations?[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sandra BOEHRINGER". ANHIMA (in French). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 Loraux, Nicole (2002). "Sandra Boehringer, Dika, élève de Sappho, Lesbos, 600 av. J.-C". Clio (in French). 15. Belin éditeur. doi:10.4000/clio.80. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Rostom, Mesli (14 July 2008). "Sandra Boehringer, L'Homosexualité féminine dans l'Antiquité grecque et romaine". Genre & Histoire (in French). 2. Mnémosyne. doi:10.4000/genrehistoire.307. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Ormand, Kirk (2013). "L'Homosexualité féminine dans l'Antiquité grecque et romaine by Sandra Boehringer (review)". American Journal of Philology. 134 (1). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. doi:10.1353/ajp.2013.0004 – via Project MUSE.
  5. 1 2 Wright, Jessica (2023). "Review of: Female homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. Bryn Mawr, PS. ISSN 1055-7660. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  6. 1 2 Budin, Stephanie (13 October 2025). "A Review of: Boehringer, Sandra 2021. Female Homosexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome. London: Routledge". Pnyx: Journal of Classical Studies. 4: 82–88. doi:10.55760/pnyx.2025.41627. ISSN 2754-5725. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 Birnbaum, Jean (6 December 2007). "Bon sens et mauvais genre". Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Wright, Jessica. "Review of: Female homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. ISSN 1055-7660.
  9. 1 2 Paturet, Arnaud (1 March 2018). "Boehringer, Sandra and Daniele Lorenzini (edd.): Foucault, la Sexualité, l'Antiquité. Philosophie en Cours". International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique. 31 (1): 175–178. doi:10.1007/s11196-018-9540-6. ISSN 1572-8722. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  10. 1 2 Downing, Lisa (2024). "Foucault, Sexuality, Antiquity ed. by Sandra Boehringer and Daniele Lorenzini (review)". Journal of the History of Sexuality. 22 (2). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press: 289–291. Retrieved 1 June 2026 – via Project MUSE.
  11. ↑ Brethes, Romain (9 May 2019). "Sandra Boehringer : l'amour est culturel". Le Point (in French). Archived from the original on 17 March 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "L'historienne Sandra Boehringer dévoile les ressorts de la sexualité antique". Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (DNA) (in French). 27 March 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Sandra Boehringer". archimede.unistra.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Révolution sexuelle". L'Histoire (in French). Archived from the original on 16 February 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Boehringer, Sandra (24 May 2017), "homosexuality, female", Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8017, ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5, archived from the original on 5 November 2018, retrieved 1 June 2026
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