Although the theme of bloodied nuptial sheets seems pervasive in western culture, its association with female virginity is uniquely tied to a brief passage in the book of Deuteronomy detailing the procedure for verifying a young woman's purity and seldom, if ever, appears outside of non-Abrahamic traditions. In Signs of Virginity, Michael Rosenberg examines the history of virginity testing in Judaism and early Christianity, and the relationship of these tests to a culture that encourages male sexual violence. Deuteronomy's violent vision of virginity has held sway in Jewish and Christian circles more or less ever since, but Rosenberg points to two authors--the rabbinic collective that produced the Babylonian Talmud and Augustine of Hippo--who, even as they perpetuate patriarchal assumptions about female virginity, nonetheless attempt to subvert the emphasis on sexual dominance bequeathed to them by Deuteronomy. Unlike the authors of earlier Rabbinic and Christian texts, who modified but fundamentally maintained and even extended the Deuteronomic ideal, the Babylonian Talmud and Augustine both construct alternative models of female virginity that, if taken seriously, would utterly reverse cultural ideals of masculinity. Indeed this vision of masculinity as fundamentally gentle, rather than characterized by brutal and violent sexual behavior, fits into a broader idealization of masculinity propagated by both authors, who reject what Augustine called a "lust for dominance" as a masculine ideal.
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Introduction - Defining Virginity, Making Men Part One: Testing Virginity in the Body Chapter One - Testing Virginity in the Body Chapter Two - Bloodied Sheets: The Biblical Nuptial Bed as Rape Scene Chapter Three - "Trustworthy Women" and Other Witnesses: Tweaking Deuteronomy in Pre-Rabbinic and Early Rabbinic Judaism Part Two: Testing Virginity through Faith Chapter Four - Doubts and Faith: Possible Alternatives in Three First-Century Jewish Authors Chapter Five - Struck by Wood, Struck by God: Virginity Beyond/Despite Anatomy Part Three: Subjecting Virginity Chapter Six - Open Doors and Accused Brides: Subjectivity and a New Standard for Virginity Testing in Rabbinic Babylonia Chapter Seven - Impure Nuptials and Sex as Work: The Bavli's Attempted Divorce of Virginity from Violence Chapter Eight - (De)Mythologizing the Hymen: Augustine, the Bavli, and the Rejection of Force Epilogue Bibliography
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This book will prove a valuable resource and conversation partner for students and scholars of classical and antique expressions of Judaism, Christianity, gender, and sexuality.
"This book will prove a valuable resource and conversation partner for students and scholars of classical and antique expressions of Judaism, Christianity, gender, and sexuality." -- Michael R. Whitenton, Baylor University, Review of Biblical Literature "Signs of Virginity is a beautifully in depth and complex work that in the hands of another writer could have been impossible to follow. Michael Rosenberg does an excellent job of leading readers through a variety of texts with ease, without ever oversimplifying the complexity of each. The sheer diversity of texts he brings to the table is admirable Rosenberg's study will soon be indispensable for those interested in late antique masculinity Along with earning a spot in the ranks of masculinity studies, Signs of Virginity also belongs to a burgeoning field of scholarship that treats rabbinic Judaism and Christianity together. Rosenberg's comparison of the Babylonian Talmud with Christian sources places him in a similar vein as scholars like Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, Seth Schwartz, and Jeffrey Rubenstein."--Jeannie Sellick, Reading Religion "Rosenberg proves himself to be a master at analysis and interpretation of not only rabbinic texts, but also pre-rabbinic sources and early Christian sources, both east and west. His close readings are insightful, compelling, revisionist, if not revolutionary."--Christine Hayes, author of What's Divine about Divine Law: Early Perspectives "The intriguing paradox in Rosenberg's argument is that female virginity was critical to the making of ancient Jewish and Christian masculinities. The scholarship is insightful, and the implications profound. Breaking with the Hebrew Bible's model of aggressive male sexuality, some late antique voices made room for a manhood that was gentler and, frankly, far less bloody. This new model of masculinity forever changed gender ideals and possibilities." --Beth A. Berkowitz, author of Defining Jewish Difference: From Antiquity to the Present "Michael Rosenberg writes fluently and smoothly, progressing through a series of close textual readings that culminate in a rich and deeply layered overview of an important chapter in the histories of gender and sexuality in the biblical tradition. He is at his most insightful when dealing with these texts, but nonetheless displays a clear mastery of a wide range of ancient materials and their modern studies, from Greco-Roman medicine to feminist interpretation to Christian poetry." --Andrew Jacobs, Mary W. and J. Stanley Johnson Professor of Humanities & Professor of Religious Studies, Scripps College
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Selling point: Offers a new history of male sexual aggression through the lens of female virginity Selling point: Updates Daniel Boyarin's influental argument about Rabbinic masculinity, arguing that Boyarin's gentle male is unique to Babylonia
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Michael Rosenberg is assistant professor of rabbinics at Hebrew College.
Selling point: Offers a new history of male sexual aggression through the lens of female virginity Selling point: Updates Daniel Boyarin's influental argument about Rabbinic masculinity, arguing that Boyarin's gentle male is unique to Babylonia
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780190845896
Publisert
2018
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press Inc
Vekt
576 gr
Høyde
243 mm
Bredde
165 mm
Dybde
29 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
328

Forfatter

Biographical note

Michael Rosenberg is assistant professor of rabbinics at Hebrew College.