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Women on top: Coital positions and gender hierarchies in Renaissance Italy
Author(s) -
Den Hartog Marlisa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
renaissance studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1477-4658
pISSN - 0269-1213
DOI - 10.1111/rest.12718
Subject(s) - historiography , the renaissance , perspective (graphical) , power (physics) , position (finance) , gender studies , history , sociology , psychology , art , art history , physics , archaeology , finance , quantum mechanics , economics , visual arts
According to Christian theology, the ‘missionary’ position was the only proper way to have sex. Among clerical as well as secular authors, one of the most serious deviations from this prescription was the position with the woman on top of the man. Although medieval and early modern defences of the woman‐on‐top prohibition are often focused on reproduction or health, modern scholars habitually explain it as a reflection of concern about the inversion of gender roles and hierarchies. Against the background of the hierarchical perspective on sexual intercourse in general, this hypothesis seems almost self‐evident. Thus far, however, it has not been sufficiently supported with relevant source material. This article brings a focused case study of this topic to the historiography by analyzing the discussion of the woman‐on‐top position in Italian sources written between c. 1350‐1550. Theological, medical and literary sources are used to support the hypothesis that the woman‐on‐top prohibition was to an important extent sanctioned by beliefs about gender roles and hierarchies. There were various ways in which the ‘missionary’ position could be defended, ranging from defences of innate male prerogatives to concern about female power.