Mary Laven

Jesuits and Eunuchs: Representing Masculinity in Late Ming China

For early modern ethnographers, gender was an invaluable category of analysis. It provided a crucial means of testing the civility and morality of foreign people. And it was put to vigorous rhetorical work in conjuring up comforting similarities and repulsive alterities. Hence in their descriptions of China, the Portuguese apothecary Tomé Pires commented reassuringly that “The women resemble Castilian women”, while the Spanish Dominican friar Gaspar da Cruz focused on the “filthy abomination”, the “accursed sin” of male homosexuality with which late Ming society was afflicted. My article explores Matteo Riccis strategies of representation in describing Chinese masculinities. In doing so, it sheds light on the vulnerability of the Jesuits own gender identity.

Sex and celibacy in early modern Venice.

This article explores the nature of relationships formed between nuns and male clergy in early modern Venice. It is based on the records of trials for the violation of conventual enclosure, the principle at the centre of the reforms of nunneries decreed by the Council of Trent, which aspired to sever all links between nuns and the world outside the cloister. The trials offer detailed insights into the interactions of male and female celibates, whose relationships were frequently monogamous, long-term, and intense, although rarely overtly sexual. I argue that the constraints of enclosure conditioned the nature of celibate desire, promoting a model of heterosocial engagement in which bodily intimacy was surprisingly unimportant.

Reading at Home

Let’s begin ... ♥ Listening to your child should be an enjoyable, shared experience. ♥ Find a time when you and your child are relaxed – make it a special time. ♥ Sit beside your child, either at a table or on the couch. Allow your child to hold the book. ♥ Don’t argue with or force your child to read, if they are tired or disinterested; there is no pleasure for either person. ♥ Patience is extremely important if the child is frightened about making mistakes. Resist jumping in and correcting errors but ask questions like: Does that make sense? Does that look right? What does it start with?