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For this week’s we will be taking a closer look at Katherine Harvey’s article “Bad for the Soul, Good for the Body: Religion, Medicine and Masturbation in the Middle Ages” 1/5

Harvey explores the historical context contributing to ‘the popular view that, throughout history, masturbation has been considered as inherently sinful’ 2/5

However, she continues by exploring the ways that ‘even within the medieval Church, there were some who took a more relaxed stance’ 3/5

Harvey suggests that ‘these nuances within the penitential system perhaps reflect the medieval medical belief that men and women needed to have sexual intercourse for the sake of their health’ 4/5