
The Once and Future Sex
Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society
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Narrated by:
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Samara Naeymi
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By:
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Eleanor Janega
About this listen
A vibrant and illuminating exploration of medieval thinking on women's beauty, sexuality, and behavior.
What makes for the ideal woman? How should she look, love, and be? In this high-spirited history, medievalist Eleanor Janega turns to the Middle Ages, the era that bridged the ancient world and modern society, to unfurl its suppositions about women and reveal what's shifted over time—and what hasn't.
Enshrined medieval thinkers, almost always male, subscribed to a blend of classical Greek and Roman philosophy and Christian theology for their concepts of the sexes. For the height of female attractiveness, they chose the mythical Helen of Troy, whose imagined pear shape, small breasts, and golden hair served as beauty's epitome. Casting Eve's shadow over medieval women, they derided them as oversexed sinners, inherently lustful, insatiable, and weak. And, unless a nun, a woman was to be the embodiment of perfect motherhood.
In The Once and Future Sex, Janega unravels the restricting expectations on medieval women and the ones on women today. She boldly questions why, if our ideas of women have changed drastically over time, we cannot reimagine them now to create a more equitable future.
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Story
Roman physicians told female patients they should sneeze out as much semen as possible after intercourse to avoid pregnancy. Historical treatments for erectile dysfunction included goat testicle transplants. In this kaleidoscopic compendium of centuries-old erotica, science writer Rachel Feltman shows how much sex has changed—and how much it hasn’t. With unstoppable curiosity, she debunks myths, breaks down stigma, and uses the long, outlandish history of sex to dissect present-day practices and taboos. Been There, Done That delivers some sorely needed sex ed.
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Sexy Science You Can Trust
- By Anonymous User on 08-13-23
By: Rachel Feltman
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The Missing Thread
- A Women's History of the Ancient World
- By: Daisy Dunn
- Narrated by: Daisy Dunn, Jenny Funnell
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Around four thousand years ago, the mysterious Minoans sculpted statues of topless women with snakes slithering on their arms. Over one thousand years later, Sappho wrote great poems of longing and desire. For classicist Daisy Dunn, these women—whether they were simply sitting at their looms at home or participating in the highest echelons of power—were up to something much more interesting than other histories would lead us to believe. Together, these women helped to make antiquity as we know it.
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Not quite what I expected
- By havanese lover on 01-13-25
By: Daisy Dunn
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Sex in the Middle Ages
- By: Jennifer McNabb, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jennifer McNabb
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
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Sex. The word makes some people giggle or blush, while others may draw back in discomfort. So, why do we find it so difficult to talk openly about sex? Much of our reticence in discussing and acknowledging the realities of sex comes, at least in part, from a unique time and place: medieval Europe. In the 12 episodes of Sex in the Middle Ages, Professor Jennifer McNabb and a panel of experts in medieval history and literature will take you back to the period between the fall of Rome and the rise of the Renaissance to explore the ideals and realities of sex and sexuality.
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Confusing
- By Anonymous User on 03-23-24
By: Jennifer McNabb, and others
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Butts
- A Backstory
- By: Heather Radke
- Narrated by: Heather Radke, Emily Tremaine
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Part deep dive reportage, part personal journey, part cabinet of curiosities, Butts is an entertaining, illuminating, and thoughtful examination of why certain silhouettes come in and out of fashion—and how larger ideas about race, control, liberation, and power affect our most private feelings about ourselves and others.
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Woof.
- By Aaron M Groth on 01-21-23
By: Heather Radke
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The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women
- An Inside Look at Women & Sex in Medieval Times
- By: Rosalie Gilbert
- Narrated by: Cat Gould
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Inside The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women, a fascinating book about life during medieval times, you will discover tantalizing true stories about medieval women and a myriad of historical facts.
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Very Well Done!
- By Stephanie Meier on 03-25-21
By: Rosalie Gilbert
So enlightening and validating
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This book takes it to the next level. It’s full of wonderful insights and is a great read from start to finish
Fantastically entertaining and enlightening
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Medieval views (prejudiced) of women, many from monks and priests, are very much alive today.
As a 60+ man I liked to think that the place of women in our society has improved tremendously since Medieval times. Dr Janega let’s us know that this isn’t necessarily true and how women are viewed by some have deep roots.
Great reading too!
Definitely recommended.
A complex and important history
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Fascinating and educational
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The academic perspective
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Learned a lot. Enjoyed doing it
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Dr. Janega hits it out of the park
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Fantastic
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Insightful and informative book
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An absolute delight!
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