sex and gender
Book Review: Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe by John Boswell The question of same-sex unions and their legitimacy in many different societies is a topic that has been hotly debated for centuries. One society in particular is pre-modern Europe. Noted author and historian Dr. John Boswell looks extensively at the topic of same-sex unions in his book Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe. Dr. Boswell argues extensively in his book that the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches not only sanctioned unions between partners of the same sex, but actually sanctified them. This critique examines some specific aspects of the book, and analyzes them. Before an analysis of the Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe can be evaluated, it's important to know a little about the author himself and what he stood for. Dr. Boswell was a professor at Yale University and Chairman of Yale's history department for many years. He was an award winning scholar, author and historian. In addition to writin!g Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe he also wrote several other works such as Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality. Two of his greatest professional achievements included being a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and a Fulbright scholar. It is his extens
------------------------------------------------------------------------ by the church. Also, according to Boswell, men would essentially pair off in order to perform duties that were considered essential to society such as war, trade, education, friendship, etc. As Boswell puts it "it is hardly surprising that there should been a Christian solemnizing same sex unions." I do not agree with him on this premise, although homosexuality has existed in animal species and in humans since the beginnings of our existence, how can he be so bold as to assume that the majority of these supposed pairs were homosexual? In my opinion that broad of a statement is like saying that any two men that shake hands or embrace must automatically be gay. There is a second specific point that I wish to point out with regards to medieval priest and the monastic life. Boswell points out in Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe that young boys caught performing homosexual acts were "punished" by being sent to a monastery. Was this meant as "punishment" to deprive these boys of! with his thesis, there are too many open ends in terms of his interpretations of documents and other sources. to exactly how much homosexuality is tolerated by the so-called mainstream society. There were places such as Ancient Greece where it was accepted and modern day liberal locations such as San Francisco, California that have a large gay/lesbian population. In both places both in the past and present, a certain percentage of religions
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Approximate Word count = 1013
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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