Esther and the Paradoxical Power of Sexual Difference

About this episode

Marc and Maria discuss the paradoxical power of sexual difference as exemplified by Esther's defeat of idolatrous power structures.

Esther defeats the idolatrous god-king through the strange power of weakness. Join Marc and Maria’s discussion of monolithic and idolatrous power structures and their vulnerability to the particular vocation of women. Catch up with Episode 1: youtu.be/Glj3ojZERvw?si=G1CfeS7pD2cf9TxdYou can follow along with the Esther Rabah, a collection of rabbinic commentaries on Esther from the 6th and 11th centuries: https://www.sefaria.org/Esther_Rabbah Come meet Maria and Marc at New Polity's 2026 conference "Man, Woman, Tyrant, Slave"! Learn more and register at https://newpolity.com/2026 If you’re fascinated by the topic of sexual difference, take a deep dive with New Polity Issue 7.1/2: articles from Slavoj Zizek, D.C. Schindler, Rocco Buttiglione and more: https://newpolity.com/single-issues/7-1/2 Get offline: subscribe to New Polity Magazine. https://newpolity.com/magazine Read our essays: https://newpolity.com/essays Please consider donating to help us make more: https://newpolity.com/donate

People in this episode

Hosts: Marc, Maria

Topics covered

• sexual difference
• power structures
• vocation of women
• idolatry
• philosophy
• society

Keywords

• Esther
• sexual difference
• power
• women
• idolatry
• philosophy
• New Polity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Polity

Books & works: Esther Rabah, New Polity Issue 7.1/2

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