"In Pure Resistance Theodora A. Jankowski surveys the history of virginity in Christian thought from ancient times through the Renaissance in terms of contemporary queer theory. The Pauline doctrine that virginity for both men and women is superior to marriage remained strong in Augustine - who believed that consecrated virgins were "a greater blessing" than the married - and became a cornerstone of Roman Catholic theology.

Even the current edition of the New Catholic Encyclopedia privileges the state of virginity because it has as its object a superior good." "The author's claims regarding the queerness of virginity necessarily challenge the prevailing belief that the Protestant Reformation ushered in more enlightened attitudes toward women. Indeed, when considered from a queer perspective, the Protestant notion of companionate marriage proved to be far more confining to women than what had come before."--BOOK JACKET.