Virgins by Anke Bernau

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Virgins by Anke Bernau

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Summary

Virgins asks why virginity has remained so important in Western civilization and looks at the changing roles of virginity over the last 800 years, drawing on a wide range of examples from medieval saints to contemporary vampire-slayers.

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Virgins by Anke Bernau

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that only a virgin could charm a unicorn out of hiding, but far from being a quaint, anachronistic concept, virginity remains a central value in Western culture. Type 'virgin' into Google and you instantly get over 400,000 hits: everything from the Anti-Nicene Fathers to advertisements for 'Free Teen Virgin Pussy'. This book asks why virginity has remained so important in Western civilization and looks at the changing roles of virginity over the last 800 years, drawing on a wide range of examples from medieval saints to contemporary vampire-slayers. Anke Bernau examines the Medical Virgin (what exactly is virginity, and how can you reliably identify a virgin?), the Religious Virgin (from the Madonna to the American Christian Right's insistence on sexual abstinence before marriage), the Popular Virgin of Gothic fiction and modern-day horror films, the Political Virgin (virginity's intimate connection with money and power) and the Monstrous Virgin (an embodiment of what is ultimately unknowable, and of violence, excess and death). This work is a lively and wide-ranging examination of a phenomenon that has touched many aspects of our culture.
Anke Bernau was born in Germany but has lived most of her life in the UK. She has taught at the University of Cardiff and currently teaches medieval literature at the University of Manchester.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781847080127
ISBN 10 184708012X
Title Virgins
Author Anke Bernau
Condition Unavailable
Binding type Paperback
Publisher Granta Books
Year published 2008-06-02
Number of pages 232
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable