Now museum says Roman emperor was transgender

A ROMAN emperor has been branded transgender – provoking uproar among historians. The council-run North Hertfordshire Museum in Hitchin will refer to the 3rd-century AD ruler Elagabalus as ‘she’ to be ‘sensitive’ to their pronoun preferences. It owns a coin minted in the reign and uses it in LGBT-themed displays. The decision is based on the account of Roman chronicler Cassius Dio, who claims Elagabalus was ‘termed wife, mistress and queen’, told one lover ‘Call me not Lord, for I am a Lady’, and asked for female genitalia to be fashioned for him. Cambridge professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill said the accounts were simply a character assassination and that Romans ‘didn’t have our idea of “trans”.’ North Herts Council said Elagabalus ‘definitely preferred the “she” pronoun’.