Female sexuality in the early medieval Islamic world : gender and sex in Arabic literature

Summary: "In the early Islamic world, Arabic erotic compendia and sex manuals were a popular literary genre. Although primarily written by male authors, the erotic publications from this era often emphasised the sexual needs of women and the importance of female romantic fulfilment. Pernilla Myrne here explores this phenomenon, examining a range of Arabic literature to shed fresh light onto the complexities of female sexuality under the Abbasids and the Buyids. Based on an impressive array of neglected medical, religious-legal, literary and entertainment sources, Myrne elucidates the tension between depictions of women's strong sexual agency and their subordinated social role in various contexts. In the process she uncovers a great diversity of approaches from the 9th to the 11th century, including the sexual handbook the Encyclopedia of Pleasure (Jawami' al-ladhdha), which portrayed the diversity of female desires, asserting the importance of mutual satisfaction through lively poems and stories. This is the first in-depth, comprehensive analysis of female sexuality in the early Islamic world and is essential reading for all scholars of Middle Eastern history and Arabic literature."--

Record details

ISBN: 1838605010
ISBN: 9781838605018
ISBN: 1784539872
ISBN: 9781784539870
ISBN: 1838605037
ISBN: 9781838605032
ISBN: 1838605029
ISBN: 9781838605025
Physical Description: 1 online resource (241 pages)
remote
Publisher: London : I.B. Tauris & Company, Limited, 2020.
Copyright: ©2020

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Sexual comedy and female authorshipWomen's bodies in satire and mujūn; Defaming women: Hubbā al-Madīniyya; Defaming women: the Abbasid courtesans; A woman's response: ʻArīb; Concluding remarks; 6 Sisters and Lovers; Female homosexuality and sahq; Lesbians speaking out; Lesbian love and comedy; Why sahq? Medical and social explanations; Al-Samaw ʼal on sahq; Concluding remarks; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index
Source of Description Note:	Print version record.