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| Anonymous Schamweisende Approx. 12th century San Pedro de Cervatos Church, Spain |
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There is a certain discrepancy between the church's ethos and the figures pointing to their vulva which are placed on the outside of churches. Usually, it is off-limits to represent genitals, other than the genitals of the newborn Jesus. Why then did people who are pointing to their genitals appear in Spain and France and why were they shown in a Christian context? Often they are connected with an apotropaic sense. The scientist Monika Gsell discusses another interpretation in her book which will be presented in the following[1]. At first, due to varied representations, it has to be assumed that these figures had a different origin and purpose in the North of Europe than those in Spain and France[2]. The first time these figures appeared in this latitude was during the crusades. When people moved towards the wealthy east they encountered the Islam and thus another culture. In her book, Gsell[3] presents an essay of Claudio Lange where he mentions the "Islamization of love life"[4] at the time. He actually refers to other sexual practices which are depicted across churches of the Middle Ages. Gsell talks about "pictorial citations of Islamic love life"[5]. She assumes[6] that this is how Muslims were humiliated and represented as shameless and obscene. The other way round, "obscene men and women were assigned with Muslim attributes"[7]. This is why two birds could be killed with one stone; on the one hand[8], other religions were denigrated and on the other hand, anti-Islamic war propaganda was spread.[9] In the course of history, Spain was time and again confronted[10] with Arabic conquests which explains the Christian attitude. The mentioned figure is placed on the external wall of the church in a window and is mirrored on the opposite side by the male equivalent. The woman supports her outstretched legs by holding her thighs tightly and presents her vulva in a sexually explicit way. While the outer labia are modelled, the inner labia are only suggested. Instead of an opening, there is a closed recess. The moronic facial expression additionally debases the woman. Her pose was supposed to point out the otherness of sexual intercourse. The Muslime reference is depicted by the headscarf worn by the woman. (Translation: C. Wilhelm) |
