Spiritual Androgyny. The Creation of a New Orthodoxy by Medieval Christian Women

Medieval and early modern Christian women, particularly those with a religious vocation, often walked a fine line between orthodoxy and heresy.  A woman's incursion into activities seen as inappropriate for a female often met with censure or accusations of heresy.  In "Spiritual Androgyny," Mary Baldridge examines the way in which four medieval and early modern religious women were able to maintain their orthodoxy while establishing an active role for themselves with which they felt comfortable, and excelling as spiritual leaders within the Church.  They did this by emphasizing the “androgyny” of the Christian’s spiritual identity; an androgyny that was just as important for men to embrace as it was for women.  By supporting their gender strategies with indisputably orthodox arguments, these women were able to transcend the limits that society and the Church would have imposed upon them.