Thomas Aquinas
Italian · 13th century
Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and theologian, one of the most influential thinkers in Western Christianity, author of the Summa Theologica.
Connection to Taylor Swift
His theological writings contain characterizations of women's hysteria and the wandering uterus, exemplifying the centuries-long tradition of men writing about and pathologizing women's emotions, the very cultural pattern Taylor pushes back against in songs like 'mad woman.'
Notable Works
- Summa Theologica, Summa contra Gentiles
Appears in the Archive
Context within the Archive
Summa Theologica
Uncle Jerry references Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica as containing writing about women's hysteria and the wandering uterus. He uses this as evidence that men have been characterizing women as insane or hysterical in written works for centuries, which is the cultural pattern the song pushes back against.