New Books Network Jennifer Barry, "Gender Violence in Late Antiquity: Male Fantasies and the Christian Imagination" (U California Press, 2025)
Sep 29, 2025
Jennifer Barry, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Mary Washington and expert on early Christianity, dives into her book on gender violence in late antiquity. She discusses how early Christian texts normalize gender-based violence and the ideologies behind them. Barry examines the role of male fantasies in shaping narratives of female suffering and how figures like Augustine and Athanasius manipulated these portrayals for theological aims. She also advocates for incorporating gender and violence into scholarship to challenge ongoing patterns of harm.
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Gender Violence As Historical Force
- Gender violence in late antiquity is not peripheral but constitutive of social and religious life.
- Studying these violences reveals how norms, power, and sanctity were produced and normalized.
How The Book Began
- Jennifer Barry recounts her academic path from Bishops in Flight to focusing on gender violence after MeToo.
- Her classroom experience motivated a book to help scholars and teachers address pervasive sexual violence in texts.
Why Gender Gets Sidetracked
- Scholarship often sidelines gender and sexuality as 'special topics' rather than integral elements of late antiquity.
- Barry argues these topics are baked into sources and should be central, not peripheral, to interpretation.
