One of the questions this book has set out to answer is whether Menander created the “good” hetaira Plutarch mentions at Moralia 712c. In the course of my investigation, I have shown that mistaken identity embraces a much wider range of characters than low-status women from the ranks – or potential ranks – of hetairai. Something of a demographic profile has emerged: characters who make the mistakes are mostly high-status men, while those who are mistaken are mostly low-status women. This chapter addresses the question of this gender imbalance. Why are women such apt objects of misperception? Historical factors are certainly part of the explanation. Menander wrote for a particular audience whose experiences, values, and beliefs clearly shaped his mistaken identity plots. Events generally play out against a backdrop of Athenian public institutions, among characters who are often thoroughly conversant with Athenian laws and customs. Menander's compliance with these laws raises questions about whether his plays defend or justify them. The plays also comply, however, with norms and values that would have had wider currency throughout the Greek-speaking world (e.g., the idea that status ought to reflect moral character). Other aspects of the Menandrian mistaken identity plot can be traced to shared artistic and cultural traditions. For example, Menander's debts to earlier drama raise particular questions where women's status is concerned. Tragedy and Old Comedy had long explored tensions and ambiguities surrounding their role in the polis and the oikos.