Originally published in 1991. Covering courtship, disclosure, diversity, and public implications, the essays here discuss topics such as erotic magic, nakedness, physicians’ attitudes about sex, boy-love, saints and sex, and the politics of sodomy, as they were manifested in medieval Europe and the Middle East.

Dionne O'Dell is an academic specialist/faculty in the Department of Theatre at Michigan State University (MSU), where she specializes in writing and directing plays for youth and community. Previously, Dionne was the associate director of education at Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. Although primarily interested in writing plays with a social justice focus (most recently, Phosphates and Fistfights), in February 2010 her short film script Dreadful Sorry (a ghost story) was awarded a $100,000 grant by the South Carolina Film Commission and played to short film festivals around the USA. A proud member of the Actors Equity Association, she has also worked as a performer in regional theatre productions, industrial films, and television commercials. Dionne is also the artistic director of the MSU Sense-Ability Ensemble—a group that creates innovative, multi-sensory, interactive theatrical performances for audiences that are neurodiverse. The ensemble’s most recent production, What if Wilhelmina, is a musical adaptation of the children’s book of the same title, created by author and illustrator Joseph Belisle. Dionne is also a member of the Dramatists Guild.