Modern English speakers struggle to find sexual terms that aren’t either obscene or scientific, but that wasn’t always the case. In a recent review of Jenni Nuttall’s Mother Tongue, Mary Wellesley connects our linguistic squeamishness to changing ideas about women and sexuality. She joins Tom to discuss the changing language of women’s anatomy, work and lives.
Mary Wellesley hosts a Close Readings series on medieval humour with Irina Dumitrescu. Listen to their episode on Chaucer here, or watch their discussion on YouTube.
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