Byzantine Intersectionality

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Intersectionality, a term introduced in 1989, is gaining significance in academic and civic discussions. It explores overlapping social identities such as race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, and sexual orientation, alongside the systems of oppression and discrimination they face. This book delves into marginalized identities and intersectionality during the medieval era, uncovering often-overlooked dialogues in medieval thought and visual culture regarding sexual and reproductive consent, bullying, non-monogamous marriages, homosocial and homoerotic relationships, trans and non-binary identities, disability representations, and minority oppression. Challenging contemporary perceptions of the medieval world, the author investigates these issues within the Byzantine Empire and its eastern Mediterranean neighbors, utilizing sources from late antiquity to the early modern period. In five chapters, the author presents concise narratives that reveal nuanced insights from medieval thinkers and artists. Notable topics include depictions of sexual consent in Virgin imagery, the roots of sexual shaming through Empress Theodora's story, early trans history through the lives of gender-diverse saints, and medieval understandings of disability. This deeply researched work offers a groundbreaking perspective on medieval culture for a new generation of scholars.