Tools
A history of celibacy
- Author
- Abbott, Elizabeth.
- Title
- A history of celibacy / Elizabeth Abbott.
- Format
- Book
- Edition
- First Scribner edition.
- Published
- New York : Scribner, 2000.
- Description
- 493 p. ; 24 cm.
- URL
- <Publisher description> http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/simon031/99087803.html <Contributor biographical information> http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0707/99087803-b.html <Table of contents only> http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0707/99087803-t.html
- Other titles
- The Victor Cheney Collection.
- Notes
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 433-474) and index.
- Review
- "Elizabeth Abbott's spirited and provocative exploration of celibacy debunks the traditionally held notion that celibacy is a predominantly religious concept of little concern to the secular world. With myriad examples, Abbott's history reveals insights not only about our religious practices but also about our sexual desires and changing attitudes toward gender and physical health." "From the vestal virgins of ancient Rome, who were entombed alive if they broke their vows, to contemporary athletes, who "conserve semen" to enhance their game, from celibacy as a guarantee for marriage to involuntary celibacy among prisoners, eunuchs, and young women cloistered against their will, Abbott puts a human face on celibacy, capturing the anguish of the castrated boy destined for an operatic career, the ecstasy of the woman whose celibacy is rewarded by visions of Christ, and the anger of the bachelor doomed by the surplus of males in contemporary China."--BOOK JACKET.
- Kinsey subjects
- Celibacy.
- ISBN
- 0684849437 9780684849430