The Female Body as a Territory of Conflict

virginity, power, and morality in biblical narratives

Abstract

The biblical narrative brings together several episodes that, at first reading, appear to establish moral prohibitions related to sexuality almost always falling upon women, as in the episodes involving Tamar, Dinah, the daughters of Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Bathsheba. Based on the reflections of Yvonne Knibiehler, in The Story of Virginity, and Fabrice Hadjadj, in The Depth of the Sexes, this article aims to list elements for a critical rereading of these passages, which have traditionally been associated with sexual immorality. It argues that some interpretations distort the biblical meaning by subjecting women to patriarchal control mechanisms, reducing them to procreative and patrimonial roles. In dialogue with contemporary Jewish literature, it suggests understanding the female body as a symbolic territory of conflict, where virginity, desire, sin and power intersect. At the same time, it points out that these narratives, when read through a critically lens, open a space for resistance and resignification, contributing to current debates on body, desire, spirituality, and female sexuality.