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The Once and Future Sex

Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society

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The Once and Future Sex

By: Eleanor Janega
Narrated by: Samara Naeymi
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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.

©2023 Eleanor Janega (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Europe Gender Studies Medieval Social Sciences Women Thought-Provoking Ancient History
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Insightful Historical Account • Engaging Narrative Style • Relevant Modern Connections • Comprehensive Women's Perspectives
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I must admit that Eleanor Janega is absolutely my historian crush. She’s amazing and so witty as well as brilliant. This book is no exception. She both educates and entertains in her explanations of sex, gender roles and how women were perceived then and now. Being a historian myself, I was familiar with the subject matter, but still learned so many new things and details that I found fascinating.

So enlightening and validating

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I discovered Dr. Janega through her History Hit videos and have always appreciated her ability to not just explain history but also make it relevant to the present

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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Dr Janega always delivers written or verbal information with a style that is never dull!

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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This is one that I didn’t want to end. There is so much not taught to us or considered general knowledge when it comes to women of the past, especially medieval. We have more in common than we think. We also have a long way to go in respecting roles of women in the past and today.

Fascinating and educational

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This book is a wonder addition to Womens history on topics that we do not often discuss. I can only complain that it is too short.

The academic perspective

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Well structured. Well researched. Well written. None of this was covered in the medieval history curriculum at school! Excellent narration.

Learned a lot. Enjoyed doing it

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I loved this book. Not only is it a fascinating look at a group of people we don't get to delve into very often. We also get an insightful critique of our own ideas about women. The narrator was excellent and her tone and hint of wry wit was perfect for the piece. I would love to see this pairing again with future projects

Dr. Janega hits it out of the park

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I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this book. Not only valuable for medieval history lovers but for anyone thinking about modern women's lives. if you aren't afraid of some salty language, I recommend listening to this when the young women (and men) in your life are in earshot. There are so many good points made by pulling the absurdities of cultural constructs and shining a mirror to the injustices they create.

Fantastic

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Dr Eleanor Janega presents history topics in a dynamic and relatable manner. I follow all of her documentaries on History Hits. Her documentaries are like having an informative and fun chat with a friend over a pint. I hope this is the first of many books from Dr Janega.

Insightful and informative book

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I yearn to push this wonderful book into the hands of every fan of history, fantasy genre fiction, and anyone the least bit interested in the presence of women in religious and daily life in Europe’s past. It could only have been better if Dr. Janega had narrated it herself, but hey, there’s always the We’re Not So Different podcast! (Also Samara Naeymi is great! I just already loved Eleanor Janega’s delivery and voice before preordering this.)

An absolute delight!

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