Signs of Virginity : Testing Virgins and Making Men in Late Antiquity

Although the theme of bloodied nuptial sheets seems pervasive in western culture, its association with female virginity is uniquely tied to a brief passage in the book of Deuteronomy detailing the procedure for verifying a young woman's purity; it seldom, if ever, appears outside of Abrahamic traditions. In Signs of Virginity, Michael Rosenberg examines the history of virginity testing in Judaism and early Christianity, and the relationship of these tests to a culture that encourages male sexual violence. Deuteronomy's violent vision of virginity has held sway in Jewish and Christian circles more or less ever since. However, Rosenberg points to two authors-the rabbinic collective that produced the Babylonian Talmud and the early Christian thinker Augustine of Hippo-who, even as they perpetuate patriarchal assumptions about female virginity, nonetheless attempt to subvert the emphasis on sexual dominance bequeathed to them by Deuteronomy. Unlike the authors of earlier Rabbinic and Christian texts, who modified but fundamentally maintained and even extended the Deuteronomic ideal, the Babylonian Talmud and Augustine both construct alternative models of female virginity that, if taken seriously, would utterly reverse cultural ideals of masculinity. Indeed this vision of masculinity as fundamentally gentle, rather than characterized by brutal and violent sexual behavior, fits into a broader idealization of masculinity propagated by both authors, who reject what Augustine called a "lust for dominance" as a masculine ideal. The notion that bleeding “should” accompany the “loss” of female virginity—a mode of thinking about virginity that encourages male sexual aggression—is so widespread that it is often taken for granted. Yet, Michael Rosenberg argues in __Signs of Virginity__ that this idea is a specific product of Deut. 22:13–21. Deuteronomy’s violent virginity has held sway in Jewish and Christian circles more or less ever since, but Rosenberg points to two writers—Augustine of Hippo and the rabbinic collective that produced the Babylonian Talmud—who, even as they perpetuate patriarchal assumptions about female virginity, nonetheless attempt to subvert the emphasis on dominance bequeathed to them by Deuteronomy. Unlike the authors of earlier Rabbinic and Christian texts, who modified but fundamentally maintained and even extended the Deuteronomic ideal, the Babylonian Talmud and Augustine both construct alternative models of female virginity that, if taken seriously, would utterly reverse cultural ideals of masculinity, encouraging men to be gentle, rather that brutal, in their sexual behavior. Indeed, this vision of masculinity as fundamentally gentle fits into the broader idealization of masculinity propagated by both the Babylonian Talmud’s authors and Augustine, who reject what the latter called a “lust for dominance” as a masculine ideal. Virginity And Violence In Cross-cultural Perspective -- Bloodied Sheets: The Biblical Nuptial Bed As Rape Scene -- Trustworthy Women And Other Witnesses: Tweaking Deuteronomy In Pre-rabbinic And Early Rabbinic Judaism -- Doubts And Faith: Possible Alternatives In Three First Century Jewish Authors -- Struck By Wood, Struck By God: Virginity Beyond And Despite Anatomy In The Protevangelium Of James, The Mishnah, And Late Antique Syriac Poetry -- Open Doors And Accused Brides: Subjectivity And A New Standard For Virginity Testing In Rabbinic Babylonia -- Impure Nuptials And Sex As Work: The Bavli's Attempted Divorce Of Virginity From Violence -- (de)mythologizing The Hymen: Augustine, The Bavli, And The Rejection Of Force. Michael Rosenberg. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Signs of Virginity' examines virginity testing in Judaism and early Christianity, and the relationship of these tests to male sexual violence. Rosenberg points to two authors-Augustine of Hippo and the rabbinic collective that produced the Babylonian Talmud-who construct alternative models that, if taken seriously, would utterly reverse cultural ideals of masculinity, encouraging men to be gentle, rather than brutal, in their sexual behavior