Overview

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 tenth century - when the sexual handbook the Encyclopedia of Pleasure (Jaw?mi' al-ladhdha) portrayed the diversity of female desires, asserting the importance of mutual satisfaction through lively poems and stories - to the twelfth - when a more scientific approach was taken, as many manuals and treatises were written by physicians. 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.

Full Product Details

9781784539870

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Pernilla Myrne is Associate Professor of Arabic Literature and History at the University of Gothenburg, from where she also received her PhD. She has published several peer-reviewed articles and chapters on gender and sexuality in the early Islamic world.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available