The Manliness of Women and the Social Construction of Gender in the New Testament Period
Scholars who study gender in the New Testament period largely agree that a person’s gender did not inevitably result from their sex. Masculinity was achieved through habits of behavior and bodily comportment. Men who did not maintain such standards could be criticized for becoming “effeminate,” a mo...
Autor principal: | |
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Tipo de documento: | Electrónico Artículo |
Lenguaje: | Inglés |
Verificar disponibilidad: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Publicado: |
Brill
2022
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En: |
Novum Testamentum
Año: 2022, Volumen: 64, Número: 4, Páginas: 511-531 |
(Cadenas de) Palabra clave estándar: | B
Estudios de género
/ Bibel. Neues Testament
/ Cristianismo primitivo
/ Römisches Reich
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Clasificaciones IxTheo: | FD Teología contextual HC Nuevo Testamento KAB Cristianismo primitivo ZB Sociología |
Otras palabras clave: | B
Women
B Masculinity B Gender B New Testament B gender theory |
Acceso en línea: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Sumario: | Scholars who study gender in the New Testament period largely agree that a person’s gender did not inevitably result from their sex. Masculinity was achieved through habits of behavior and bodily comportment. Men who did not maintain such standards could be criticized for becoming “effeminate,” a move downward on the gender hierarchy. Yet scholars have not understood women to have a comparable ability to move up the gender hierarchy by becoming masculine. Although a few examples of “manly” women are well known in early Christian literature, scholars have largely seen such women as an aberration from cultural expectations and as likely to draw criticism. This article argues instead that manliness was a positive trait in women, meant to convey praise. However, women were also criticized as tribades for pursing sexual relationships that were viewed as excessive and framed as masculine. The variety of possibilities and the positive valence of manliness in women point to greater complexity and fluidity in ancient gender construction. |
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ISSN: | 1568-5365 |
Obras secundarias: | Enthalten in: Novum Testamentum
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685365-bja10029 |