Whoring after Cripples: On the Intersection of Gender and Disability Imagery in Jeremiah

Abstract

I n recent years, the Book of Jeremiah has received sustained attention for its ideological constructions. 1 Independent of what may or may not be obtained in the way of historical reconstruction, a text-centered approach can yield insight into the conceptual world and projected values of the book. Although a disability studies approach to Jeremiah could seek either historical reconstruction or textual critique, the book’s intense rhetoric lends itself to the latter type of analysis. Indeed, the standard commentaries do not provide a sustained analysis of Jeremiah’s disability images; the negligence of feminine imagery that Bauer deplored a decade ago still obtains for disability. 2 This chapter seeks to integrate a disability analysis with the now well-established feminist critiques of Jeremiah. 3 One of my purposes is methodological demonstration: I hope to show how feminism and disability studies can be productively employed together. Substantively, I contend that Jeremiah uses body images and rhetoric to promote a particular view of “proper” religious observance. 4

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