Why was it Eve who was first tempted by the forbidden fruit - often characterised as an apple? And why is the maggot of misogyny still eating away at the core of society?

In this series, Jo Fidgen and a selection of readers take a fresh look at some of our most read books to discover how writers have distilled and influenced the hatred of women over centuries.

From the Bible to Fifty Shades of Grey, via Hamlet, Sons and Lovers, and fairytales, each episode takes as its starting point a text which has informed our culture, and contains misogynistic sentiments. Writers and other people with a personal connection to the texts discuss how these ideas have developed, and speak openly about how their own lives have been affected.

In the first episode, Jo and company read Genesis and consider Eve’s role in the Fall of Man.
Why did the Early Fathers of the church put all the blame on her? And can a line be traced from their depiction of Eve all the way to modern-day attitudes to women? They consider the philosophical tradition of linking men with the mind and women with the body; how we condemn women for dressing seductively; and the resistance to women holding positions of authority. Show less