ABSTRACT
This chapter interrogates medieval ideologies regarding sex and gender that continue to inform modern social constructs of desire. I argue that eroticisms represent or respond to pervasive discourses of normative sexual desires, implicitly privileging patriarchal social powers by centering the phallus as the site of erotic pleasures. Critical analyses of historical representations of sexualities expose the constructedness of desires, revealing that they are enmeshed with systemic oppressions. However, some modern representations of the Middle Ages, such as the medievalisms explored in this book, combine radical sex acts with medieval narratives, thus subverting heteronormativity and the historical traditions that suggest heteronormativity is natural and timeless. This chapter and, subsequently, the book it introduces, are not limited to academically trained medievalists; much of the discussion is accessible to general audiences with an interest in the ways in which popular culture represents genders, sexualities, and the Middle Ages.
