The “Great Whore” of the Book of Revelation—the hostile symbolization used to illustrate the author’s critique of empire—has attracted considerable attention in Revelation scholarship. Feminist scholar Tina Pippin criticizes the use of gendered metaphors—“Babylon” as a tortured woman—which she asserts reflect an inescapably androcentric, even misogynistic, perspective. Alternatively, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza understands John’s rhetoric and imagery not simply in gendered terms, but in political terms as well, observing that “Babylon” relies on conventionally coded feminine language for a city. Shanell T. Smith seeks to dismantle the either/or dichotomy within the “Great Whore” debate by bringing the categories of race/ethnicity and class to bear on John’s metaphors. Her socio-cultural context impels her to be sensitive to such categories, and, therefore, leads her to hold the two elements, “woman” and “city,” in tension, rather than privileging one over the other. Using postcolonial womanist interpretation of the woman Babylon, Smith highlights the simultaneous duality of her characterization—her depiction as both a female brothel slave and as an empress or imperial city. Most remarkably, however, Smith’s reading also sheds light on her own ambivalent characterization as both a victim and participant in empire.

One of the first single-authored books to survey the role of sex and gender in the 'new imperial history', Gender and Empire covers the whole British Empire, demonstrating connections and comparisons between the white-settler colonies, and the colonies of exploitation and rule. Through key topics and episodes across a broad range of British Empire history, Angela Woollacott examines how gender ideologies and practices affected women and men, and structured imperial politics and culture. Woollacott integrates twenty years of scholarship, providing fresh insights and interpretation using feminist and postcolonial approaches. Fiction and other vivid primary sources present the voices of historical subjects, enlivening discussions of central topics and debates in imperial and colonial history. The circulation of imperial culture and colonial subjects along with conceptions of gender and race reveals the integrated nature of British colonialism from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. Authoritative and approachable, this is essential reading for students of world history, imperial history and gender relations.

The authors examine the conduct of men and women in the British Empire, focusing on topics such as politics, medicine, sexuality, childhood, religion and migration and ask why the empire was dominated by men and how that domination affected the conduct of imperial politics.

New Perspectives on the History of Gender and Empire, an open access book, extends our understanding of the gendered workings of empires, colonialism and imperialism, taking up recent impulses from gender history, new imperial history and global history. The authors apply new theoretical and methodological approaches to historical case studies around the globe in order to redefine the complex relationship between gender and empire. The chapters deal not only with 'typical' colonial empires like the British Empire, but also with those less well-studied, such as the German, Russian, Italian and U.S. empires. They focus on various imperial formations, from colonies in Africa or Asia to settler colonial settings like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, to imperial peripheries like the Dodecanese or the Black Sea Steppe. The book deals with key themes such as intimacy, sexuality and female education, as well as exploring new aspects like the complex marriage regimes some empires developed or the so-called 'servant debates'. It also presents several ways in which imperial formations were structured by gender and other categories like race, class, caste, sexuality, religion, and citizenship. Offering new reflections on the intimate and personal aspects of gender in imperial activities and relationships, this is an important volume for students and scholars of gender studies and imperial and colonial history. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollection.com. Open access was funded by Knowledge Unlatched.

An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation provides a much-needed introduction to womanist approaches to biblical interpretation. It argues that womanist biblical interpretation is not simply a byproduct of feminist biblical interpretation but part of a distinctive tradition of African American women's engagement with biblical texts. While womanist biblical interpretation is relatively new in the development of academic biblical studies, African American women are not newcomers to biblical interpretation. Written in an accessible style, this volume highlights the importance of both the Bible and race in the development of feminism and the emergence of womanism. It provides a history of feminist biblical interpretation and discusses the current state of womanist biblical interpretation as well as critical issues related to its development and future. Although some African American women identify themselves as "womanists," the term, its usage, its features, and its connection to feminism remain widely misunderstood. This excellent textbook is perfect for helping to introduce readers to the development and applications of womanist biblical interpretation.