When she became the first woman to hold the Junior Fellowship at Harvard, Nussbaum received a congratulatory note from a "prestigious classicist" who suggested that since "female fellowess" was an awkward name, she should be called hetaira, for in Greece these educated courtesans were the only women who participated in philosophical symposia.
Da hun som første kvinde fik tildelt the Junior Fellowship ved Harvard, modtog Nussbaum en lykønskning fra en velrenommeret professor i klassisk filologi, der skrev, at fordi "female fellowess" sprogligt set ikke var en køn titel, burde hun kaldes hetære, for i Antikkens Grækenland var disse uddannede kurtisaner de eneste kvinder, der deltog i de filosofiske symposier.