A Woman's Roman Empire

Isa Gattamorta

If you’ve been on any social media for the past two weeks, you may have seen the words “Roman Empire” trending. This trend started as a way to laugh at the fact that men admit to thinking about the Roman Empire multiple times a week. When I first heard this, I thought it was absolutely absurd, but then I started thinking, and realized I actually had my own Roman Empire: Princess Diana. 

I went to two of my roommates and they agreed me about how influential Princess Diana was to the world, historically and fashionably. After discussing with them, I was curious to see what other girls thought about daily, and if there were any overlaps. 

After asking a lot of different people, Princess Diana and the Salem Witch Trials were people’s  most common “Roman Empires.” Those who said Princess Diana talked about how the Royal Family treated her, as well as how much of an influential icon she was for people all over. In regards to the Salem Witch Trials, one person said they like to compare it with about how many things in modern times can kill women.

Another topic that was brought up was the Titanic. Some people said when they were kids, they were obsessed with the Titanic and consumed all the media they could about it, but then moved on as they got older. That was, until the OceanGate Submarine sunk earlier this year.  All the news and information about a similar tragedy grabbed their attention again and restarted their obsession. 

Throughout the past few weeks, I spoke to more and more women about regarding their Roman Empire, and while every response was different, they were all still connect in one way or another.. A professor of mine once said that people love to be obsessed with the mystery behind things—the “what if’s.” As a woman, I’ve noticed that other women love to take on something that has been unresolved or is niche, and it made me wonder why.  

I obviously don’t have the answer, but I’d like to think it’s because women throughout history have been seen as inferior and were pushed to the side, and many of these historical events/people are related to women. When I told a couple of guy friends about Princess Diana, some had no idea who she was, or they had no idea how important she was for people everywhere, especially women. It’s important to keep history alive, and even though these events are different, women will always support women, and continue to attach themselves to historical events where women were wronged.

Edited by Emma Moran & Kate Castello