The Pious Sex

Feuilleter cet ouvrage permet d'apprcier une belle tude historique (beaucoup de sources), qui montre comment s'est construite l'image prescrite d'une fminit par essence voulue "pieuse"... Sondant les strotypes, l'auteure, Tine Van Osselaert, finit par suggrer que les hommes aussi, dans le fond, peuvent appartenir au "sexe pieux"... Blog de Sbastien Fath >>> The 'Pious Sex' is a must-read for gender historians, theologians, feminist theorists, religious historians and anyone else who wishes to move beyond the simple stereotypes of 'female piety' to gain deeper insights into the logic and contradictions of Catholic devotion in the 'long' nineteenth century and throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Mary Heimann, University of Strathclyde, The Innes Review 65.2 (2014): 158-;184 Van Osselaer heeft een helder gestructureerd boek geschreven. Door de structuur steeds duidelijk aan te geven neemt zij de lezer mee aan de hand. Dit schept overzicht, al haalt het soms ook een deel van de spanning weg. Van Osselaer heeft voortdurend oog voor de bredere historische ontwikkelingen en ruimere context waarin haar empirische materiaal te begrijpen valt. Haar proefschrift bevat een uitgebreide geschiedenis van de religieuze bewegingen die zij beschrijft, en maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen krijgen een centrale plek in haar betoog. Van Osselaers belangrijkste bijdrage is echter haar scherpzinnige en genuanceerde genderanalyse van het gevarieerde bronnenmateriaal. Zij heeft een indrukwekkende hoeveelheid bronnen bestudeerd en plaatst haar analyse in de context van de internationale secundaire literatuur. Het boek eindigt met een oproep om binnen religiegeschiedenis meer aandacht te besteden aan de historische en geografische veranderlijkheid van genderconstructies. Van Osselaers studie laat het belang van een dergelijke benadering zien. Saskia Bultman, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, Volume 127, Number 4, November 2014, pp. 728-729(2) Van Osselaer's sources are so abundant and voluminous (the book's materials are in Flemish, French, German and English) and she reads them so well, that many fresh, new insights surface. [...] The chapters express an abiding curiosity about the centrality of femininity and masculinity in European Catholicism, and a willingness to read carefully and think deeply about ideas different from one's own. So, not only for the richness of her data, but also as an exemplum of a scholarly ideal, The Pious Sex deserves considerable praise. Brenna Moore, Fordham University, USA, European History Quarterly, Vol. 45 No. 1 Throughout the book, Van Osselaer insists on this dual view, showing that the Pious Sex of the title could be defined as both male and female throughout the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries in Catholic Belgium. Her analysis of several Catholic initiatives impressing the laity with carefully designed images of devout masculine and feminine identities shows that, although the relation between men and women within Belgian Catholic circles was highly dichotomous and hierarchical, and although womens roles within these organizations changed substantially throughout the modern period, these changes cannot be qualified as a process of feminization, but rather as one of increasing differentiation. Whereas the introduction offers a sharply drawn theoretical critique of the feminization narrative based mainly on current debates in gender studies, the empirical chapters show a wide array of roles and models held up to laymen, laywomen, and children. Josephine Hoegaerts, Catholic University of Leuven, The Catholic Historical Review 2015, vol. 101, no. 2 Tine Van Osselaers meticulously researched The Pious Sex constitutes the most recent comprehensive product of the first generation of scholars that thoroughly developed the study of gender, and specifically masculinity,

Tine Van Osselaer is research professor at Universiteit Antwerpen (Ruusbroec Institute).

PART I GENDERING RELIGION Gender & Religion 'Plus une femme est sainte, ... , plus elle est femme': 'Naturalising' religiosity On the intersection of gender studies and religious studies The 'Feminisation' Thesis: a Primer Approach Introducing Belgian Catholics Opening perspectives Gender dualisms Sacred Heart devotion Catholic Action Sermons Pastoral manuals and periodicals Constructing gender identities PART II 'GOOD' CATHOLICS The 'Pious Sex' Topography of a theme 'The other sex' Women's piety Communicating with the 'pious sex' 'La classe dvote' Women's spiritual guidance: concluding remarks Only fit for women 'Handle with care': communicating with male parishioners Winning men through 'masculine' behaviour The pastor and his flock Gender Ideology in Church Setting Pharisees, porch guards and lovers: gender prejudices and ideals pervading the sermons Creating a problem? Considering Belgium Considering Catholic practice Considering a crisis Gender Ideology for the 'Little Church', the Catholic Home Introducing the Catholic family, cornerstone of Christian society A family model and model family 'Mulieri non permitto dominari in virum' A good wife is God-given In the name of the Father Concluding remarks PART III DEVOTED CATHOLICS The Sacred Heart Devotion in Belgium For the love of Christ For the heart of the nation: Belgium and the Sacred Heart Devotional practices and movements Changing Apostles 'More effective than the sound of the bell': the Apostleship of Prayer at the end of the 1860s The Apostleship in the 1890s: defining a problem 'Divide et impera': reintroducing women in the 1930s Conclusion Gendering Heroism Catholic heroism Heroic women Heroic men Becoming a hero and heroine Models for Christians PART IV CATHOLICS IN ACTION Setting the Stage: Adult Catholic Action Movements Catholics in action Introducing the Catholic Action in Belgium Catholic Action in Belgium: youth organisations New style adult Catholic Action movements Young prophets and veterans Mobilising the laity Unity and difference Mobilising Men 'Militant' and 'modern' movements A lay movement Promoters and militants A focus on men 'Real' men A single-sex movement 'En service command' Catholic Action and new ideologies Differentiating Concluding remarks Mobilising Mothers Women's Catholic Action 'Helpers' 'Militantes' Women's movement Motherhood duties? 'Real' women Regarding men Concluding remarks PART V MAKING A DIFFERENCE Adam, Eve and the Others Gender dyads Gender difference Dichotomous constructions? 'Feminisation' and 'Masculinisation' Epilogue Abbreviations Bibliography Index Colophon