New Books in Gender

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026)

The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity.

New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review

Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity.

Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston
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At the turn of the nineteenth century, British women novelists were publishing more fiction than their male counterparts, yet their place in literary history remains precarious. In British Women Novelists and the Review Periodical (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026), Dr. Megan Peiser offers a compelling new perspective on this pivotal period by examining the overlooked power of the review periodical in shaping literary reception, authorial careers, and the novel as a genre.

Through a dynamic study of the Novels Reviewed Database, 1790–1820 (NRD)—the first dataset to systematically catalog novels reviewed as novels during the Romantic period—Dr. Peiser demonstrates how these reviews operated not as static judgments, but as an interconnected system of influence, circulation, and criticism. Periodicals functioned as central components of the literary marketplace, steering readers' tastes, framing authors' reputations, and reinforcing cultural notions of gender and genre. Examining the context of these reviews—such as Frances Burney's ambivalent negotiations with her critics and the rise and decline of Charlotte Smith's status among the "sister-queen" novelists—Dr. Peiser's analysis foregrounds the gendered dynamics of literary evaluation. By tracing the dialogue between reviewers and authors—especially in novel prefaces—she uncovers how women writers used, resisted, and responded to critical discourse. Peiser also confronts the limitations of traditional literary data by accounting for overlooked voices and diverse forms of authorship.

This fascinating literary history argues for feminist bibliographic intervention, restores the complexity of the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century review ecosystem, and provides a vital scholarly tool to reframe how we understand women's novels and the systems that have shaped literary memory.

This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.
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In The Goddess in the Mirror: An Anthropology of Beauty (Duke UP, 2025), Tulasi Srinivas offers a pathbreaking ethnography of contemporary Indian beauty parlors in Bangalore. Exploring the gendered world of beauty in the intimate spaces of the salon, whose popularity has exploded amid an urban tech revolution, Srinivas invites us to consider what beauty is and what it does. Visiting diverse salons that cater to various classes, castes, and queer sexualities, she tracks the relationships between clients and workers, revealing the beauty industry's painful political, religious, and economic stakes. Embodiment, religion, and narrative intersect as clients and beauticians tell well-known stories of beautiful Hindu goddesses, heroines, queens, and apsaras, thereby weaving their own ethical subjectivities every day. Following the goddess' allure, radiance, woundedness, fluidity, and fertility, Srinivas situates ideas of beauty within a larger moral and political context where beauty is both a fleeting pursuit and a rich resource for navigating a patriarchal present.
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Gender is becoming a central battleground in contemporary authoritarian politics, but how do autocrats manipulate these debates to their own advantage? Some regimes now pursue a double strategy of simultaneous “gender bashing” and “gender washing”: mobilising anti-gender rhetoric and “traditional values” to attack feminists and roll back equality, while at the same time promoting loyal women into prominent roles to project an image of modernity, reform, and inclusion at home and abroad. By combining repression with reputation laundering, they mask authoritarian practices and complicate the struggle for genuine gender equality. Join the People, Power, Politics podcast as we talk to Elin Bjarnegård and Pär Zetterberg about their latest Journal of Democracy article and explore how this mix of gender bashing and gender washing is reshaping the fight for equal rights and democratic politics.

Guest:

Elin Bjarnegård is a Professor of Political Science at Uppsala University specialising in gender and politics, political violence, and authoritarianism. Her research explores how gender norms shape political institutions and how formal and informal rules affect women’s political representation. She has written extensively on gendered power structures, clientelism, and the strategic manipulation of equality reforms. A leading scholar in the field, Bjarnegård’s work has been published in major academic journals and contributes to our understanding of how gender dynamics intersect with democratic decline and political reform.

Pär Zetterberg is a Professor of Political Science at Uppsala University specialising in elections, political representation, and democratic institutions. His research examines gender quotas, electoral systems, and the conditions under which institutional reforms strengthen or undermine democratic accountability. He has published widely on women’s political representation and the effects of electoral rules on inclusion and governance. Through his academic and policy engagement, Zetterberg has advanced debates on how representation can both support and be instrumentalised within contemporary political systems.

Presenter:

Dr Nic Cheeseman is the Professor of Democracy and International Development at the University of Birmingham and Founding Director of CEDAR.

The People, Power, Politics podcast brings you the latest insights into the factors that are shaping and re-shaping our political world. It is brought to you by the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR) based at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Join us to better understand the factors that promote and undermine democratic government around the world and follow us on Twitter at @CEDAR_Bham!

Transcript here.
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Colonial Caregivers: Ayahs and the Gendered History of Race and Caste in British India (Cambridge UP, 2025) offers a compelling cultural and social history of ayahs (nannies/maids), by exploring domestic intimacy and exploitation in colonial South Asia. Working for British imperial families from the mid-1700s to the mid-1900s, South Asian ayahs, as Chakraborty shows, not only provided domestic labor, but also provided important moral labor for the British Empire. The desexualized racialized ayah archetype upheld British imperial whiteness and sexual purity, and later Indian elite 'upper' caste domestic modernity. Chakraborty argues that the pervasive cultural sentimentalization of the ayah morally legitimized British colonialism, while obscuring the vulnerabilities of caregivers in real-life. Using an archive of petitions and letters from ayahs, fairytales they told to British children, court cases, and vernacular sources, Chakraborty foregrounds the precarious lives, voices, and perspectives of these women. By placing care labor at the center of colonial history, the book decolonizes the history of South Asia and the British Empire.Satya Shikha Chakraborty is an Associate Professor of History at The College of New Jersey.Saumya Dadoo is a PhD Candidate at MESAAS, Columbia University
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