The Once and Future Sex

by Eleanor Janega · 2023

In The Once and Future Sex, medievalist Eleanor Janega takes readers on a lively, high‑spirited tour of the Middle Ages to uncover how the era’s thinkers—mostly men—shaped ideas about women’s beauty, sexuality and proper conduct. Drawing on a blend of classical philosophy and Christian theology, she shows how the ideal woman was cast as a Helen‑like figure with a pear‑shaped body, golden hair and modest breasts, while everyday women were condemned as Eve‑like sinners, oversexed and weak unless they embraced the role of a perfect mother or a nun. Janega’s witty, incisive narrative unravels these medieval prescriptions, contrasts them with today’s lingering stereotypes, and asks why, despite centuries of change, we still struggle to reimagine gender norms for a more equitable future.