I thought the theme of gender in Plato’s Symposium was very interesting, because of how little worth the characters associate with the love of women, and how valued love between men is. Phaedrus, who is the first speaker, begins his speech by saying that there are two kinds of love: “Common Aphrodite’s Love” (875) and “the Love of Heavenly Aphrodite” (875). He describes the “common” love as being “felt by the vulgar, who are attached to women no less than to boys” (875), whereas those who feel “heavenly” love “are attracted to the male: they find pleasure in what is by nature stronger and more intelligent” (875). He seems to be saying that if a man loves a woman as much as they love boys, his love is more about sexual pleasure, more superficial, than if he loved another man, as if it would be “to the body more than to the soul” (875). The reason for this is perhaps because when a man is in a relationship with another man, “they naturally pay no attention to marriage or to making babies” (883) – they have the opportunity to transcend those everyday activities and think about deep, philosophical things. Women, on the other hand, have to take care of all domestic activities such as cooking and childcare, leaving them less time for intellectual pursuits. They are seen as less educated and less aware of the possibility of a purer, more godly love – and thus, incapable of it.