Seeking to contribute to the developing field of gender research in antiquity, this article offers an overview of relevant publications in Russian and other languages over the period of the last twenty years. The author notes with regret that Russian works on ancient history tend to underestimate the heuristic potential of gender studies, unlike the current research in medieval history, Russian history, ethnology, sociology, and many other fields. She points out that approaching ancient history from the premises of feminism, masculinity, and the relatively recently established queer studies has come to complement the use of traditional methods of research. The high potential of gender research in ancient studies is to a large extent determined by the patriarchal nature of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. By providing a non-traditional look at these civilizations, gender research allows us to substantially enrich our knowledge of many important developments in ancient Greek and Roman history.