This thesis explores how female embodiment has been conceived of in Christianity, extending from the patristic era – with its intermingling of Greco-Roman and Jewish conceptions of the body and woman – to the present day and the current debates around the distinction between sex and gender. Examining how women both presented and were represented in historical, theoretical and medical discourse, it argues that a continuing theme of self-discipline of the female form through asceticism – notably through fasting – is evident throughout this period. This thesis proposes that the constant of asceticism, what is termed the ‘ascetic impulse’ – can be traced throughout in such apparently disparate forms as the virile virgin of the early church through to the secular anorectic of today. It argues that such ascetic acts, rather than being understood as purely self-destructive or wholly attributable to the patriarchal or misogynistic tendencies inherent in Christianity, point to a desire to establish a positive sense of being embodied as a woman in the world, and is emblematic of the highly contested nature of female embodiment, which has been read almost exclusively in terms of the erotic and the reproductive. The thesis demonstrates that despite Christianity putting the body at the centre of its theology – through the doctrines of imago Dei, incarnation, and resurrection – no theology of the female body as such exists. Engaging critically with catholic anthropology, feminist perspectives and queer theory, it proposes an outline of a sacramental ontology of the female body. It concludes with a brief discussion of the contribution this theology could make to contemporary discussions of the female body.