*CANCELLED* Material Girls: Body Modification and Gender in the Hebrew Bible

Rosanne Liebermann, Friedman Postdoctoral Fellow in Jewish Studies

*Due to issues surrounding health concerns related to COVID-19, this event has been CANCELLED.*

 

The Hebrew Bible demonstrates that outer beauty symbolizes inner goodness and suggests that beauty is a quality with which one is naturally endowed (or not). While biblical writers acknowledge that certain female ablutions and adornment practices can enhance a pleasing appearance, they also use descriptions of “excess” female adornment to symbolize greedy or adulterous behaviour. Women who pay too much attention to their appearance are often portrayed as frivolous or even evil.

 

This talk will examine the rhetorical purpose of female beautification practices in biblical texts through the lens of materiality studies, focusing on how descriptions of temporary body modifications such as clothing, jewellery, hairstyle, makeup, and scent contribute to the construction of gender identities in the Hebrew Bible.

 

This talk is cosponsored by the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies, Religious Studies, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.