ABSTRACT
This article takes the early Christian apocryphal text Protoevangelium of James as its starting point in an exploration of Mary, menstruation, postmodern adolescent female bodies, and Jewish and Christian notions of purity. In the text, Mary’s purity is of primary concern to the author, both with regard to Jewish (temple and ritual) and Christian (sexual) concerns. Insofar as Mary is variously depicted as imminently menarcheal, virginal, and pregnant within the text, she occupies a liminal space as a female in the ancient world. In comparison, adolescent female bodies in the postmodern world occupy a similar liminal space, particularly with regard to socially determined and monitored requirements for purity and sexuality. But while Mary’s liminality is perpetually tied to her status as a virginal mother, contemporary females are left to negotiate their liminal status in bodies that are socially scrutinized as menstrual, sexual, or pure; their liminal bodily status can never be resolved in the virgin mother model.
