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Attention men – this could be a trick question. On TikTok, women are laughing their heads off at the fact that their friends think about the Roman Empire so often.
It’s the latest trend: There is currently a flood of videos on the social media platform TikTok in which women ask their men how often they think of Ancient Rome. The clips have been viewed millions of times.
Unbelievable, do you think? Then try it out yourself.
Mansplaining template
What’s funny about these clips is that the respondents are never surprised by this question, but rather answer it with dead seriousness. Mostly with very long monologues.
He thinks about Ancient Rome at least once a day and becomes one of the men in one Mirror article quoted. And, after the woman behind the camera laughs, he justifies himself: “I think about what life was like back then.”
Originating in Sweden
It is believed that this trend was triggered by the Swedish influencer Artur Hulu – on Instagram. Joins his channel @gaiusflavius likes to dress up in Roman costumes and post pithy sayings like “I can take on five men at once.” He’s fueling the TikTok trend by encouraging women to ask their men this question.
Anyone who ever came into contact with the Roman Empire told the Swede Washington Postcould no longer avoid the topic.
Hulu’s post, in turn, referred to a post by the influencer, who is also from Sweden Saskia Cort. In September 2022, she asked her Instagram followers to ask their partners how often they thought of the Roman Empire.
After Hulu’s Instagram post received hundreds of comments, the trend spilled over to TikTok, where it exploded.
Why do only men seem to be vulnerable?
Military campaigns and gladiator fights are primarily linked to a universal idea of masculinity, the Washington Post quotes historian Hannah Cornwell, who teaches at the British University of Birmingham. This fact could at least partially explain why the era is particularly interesting for men.
After all, the male fascination with the battlefield is not new. Other eras such as the First and Second World Wars or the conquests of Napoleon and Alexander the Great still have great appeal. Films like Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” also undoubtedly contributed to the popularity of the Roman Empire. And the architecture is always admired.
Nevertheless, this trend in some ways reflects the classic paradigm that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. They don’t understand each other.
My 30-year-old daughter’s inquiry confirms this assumption; her boyfriend thinks about Roman times at least once a day, she tells me with a laugh.
True bliss for men
In the evening I put it to the test, turn on the smartphone camera, film and ask my husband how often he thinks about the Roman Empire. His answer comes straight out of the box, concentrated and detailed. And he doesn’t wonder for a second why I’m asking him that. He’s just happy to be able to talk about his love for the Roman cultural heyday.
Maybe the supposedly malicious TikTok trend is actually a modern way to make men happy? I decide not to post the video and read a book about the Roman Empire over the holidays.