When Balthasar remarks to Magdalena that he can't stop thinking of her and wants to meet her in her chamber (quick, check out pg. 32), what does he mean? And is this what scholars study when they examine the history of sexuality? It's actually a bit more. One exemplary scholar of sexuality is Ruth Mazo Karras, the author of Sexuality in Medieval Europe (2nd edition, almost used in this class) and Unmarriages (2012), just pulled from the Drury shelves. In addition, she's well known for studies involving prostitution, celibacy, and homosexuality. Recently, she's embarked into areas like masculinity studies, like in her book Boys to Men. Like Ozment, she's prolific. She's a professor at University of Minnesota and co-editor of the journal of Gender and History. Sexuality studies is not the study of the "the act" but rather the ways that societies assign different meanings to the sexual experience. Sexuality is heavily gendered and constructed by society. Moreover, now most current scholars will say sexualities, not sexuality.
One of her main tasks in scholarship is to examine the multiple views of sexuality that circulated at any one given time in the Middle Ages. She likens this to today as well (there is no one "American view"). Though people like to look at the early modern past with a kind of Victorian lens, there was room for acceptable marital relations as well as transgressive boundaries that were considered marginal and perhaps off limits for the honorable. Two stereotypical views that dominated the literature of the Middle ages were: 1) sex as a pollutant and to be avoided and 2) sex as a lustful affair with mistresses, seducing priests, deceitful wives with young lovers. The former makes sense to us, and comes out of the Judeo-Christian background where sex threatened the soul and salvation. The latter is frequently forgotten and makes up many works of earthy literature in the Middle Ages that Karras argues was read (or heard, if recited) by men and women. Karras does not argue that medieval people were prudes. What today would be considered a dirty joke (and private) was a normally told story and did not bother anyone, she argues (22). She also takes a point of view that probably (sorry!) that you all have heard a lot from me: "It was a world where normative religious discourse taught that sexuality was something sinful and evil, and yet where large segments of the society chose to ignore that teaching (25). Important to see both sides.
Well, I was going to end with the photo of the very nude man, with all body parts revealed, in the Bayeaux tapestry--but when I went to post it I felt irresponsible. And I could also post the newly discovered "penis tree" in a church fresco in Massa Maritimma, Italy (google it), but why must I feel bad? Do 2014 folks have different views of sexuality than in the past? If medieval society had it in the church, it must have a relevant meaning. But what is it? That's what scholars of sexuality/ties are trying to discover.
1 comment:
Dr. Wolbrink,
Really interesting post! Sexuality is an interesting and constantly changing topic in history, between the reading for this class. Dr. Livesay's Latin American History and Dr. Kenny's Gender, Sex, and the Body I see a lot of overlap between major topics of discussion. One thing that I think most people tend to forget when thinking of the Middle Ages is that the world was not compromised of only Europe. Many varying views from other regions come into play as well when discussing sexuality, but tend to be forgotten in light of the European views on the subject. As such I think any study of the history of sexuality needs to make sure to recognize that while regions may share similar views this does not mean that the world agreed upon one type or form of sexuality.
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