Hail Mary?: The Struggle for Ultimate Womanhood in Catholicism

Rating:
Summary: A powerful analysis of Mary's relation to issues of gender.
Review: This is an amazing book. I assign it to my Sociology of Religion classes. It is a powerful, critical look at Mary. Hamington takes us through the social construction of Mary and exposes the ways in which her image has affected our own understandings of gender and sexuality. It is scholarly and yet accessible. Hamington looks at the patriarchal underpinnings of Mary's image and how this image has been used against women over the centuries, stigmatizing their natural sexuality and mothering capabilities. Read this book! Assign it to your students! It is the best on the subject!

Rating:
Summary: A powerful analysis of Mary's relation to issues of gender.
Review: This is an amazing book. I assign it to my Sociology of Religion classes. It is a powerful, critical look at Mary. Hamington takes us through the social construction of Mary and exposes the ways in which her image has affected our own understandings of gender and sexuality. It is scholarly and yet accessible. Hamington looks at the patriarchal underpinnings of Mary's image and how this image has been used against women over the centuries, stigmatizing their natural sexuality and mothering capabilities. Read this book! Assign it to your students! It is the best on the subject!