Queer Femininities in Medieval England

How was femininity operating in the late Middle Ages? This class dives into the complexities of femininity outside of the binary as it was operating in late medieval England and France. It explores questions of femme representation in medieval romances that are brimming with queer relationships and bodies before turning to queer femininities both sacred and sinful. Throughout this class, students will encounter maternal monks and effeminate sodomites, vulnerable saints and apocalyptic whores, as well as gender-bending tormentors and bodies feminized through frailty.

Through this wide-ranging exploration, this class hopes to make clear the centrality of questions of femininity to intersectional analyses (historical and contemporary). It offers examples of the ways that femininity in the medieval and modern operates systemically at the intersections of racism, colonialism, sexism, transphobia, ageism, classism, and ableism. It also opens up the possibility that the past might offer new possibilities for speculating queer alternatives. This class puts the medieval in femme hands and invites modern femmes to 'get medieval.

We are committed to making our sessions as accessible as possible. If you are unable to pay the full amount for this class, please reach out to us via email at [email protected] and we will provide you with a discount code.