In addition, the book reports her research to find forty works authored by women from India's Pala period (from 8th to the 12th century).
[9] In the book, Shaw also counters Victorian British influenced interpretations of Tantric Buddhism as overly eroticized and too grounded in a Western religious understanding of sexuality.
[10] The book includes an 18 page bibliography of further reading[11] and contributes evidence that argues against an assumption that women have a subordinate role in Tantric Buddhism.
[13] In her analysis of ritual dance practiced by Tantric Buddhist priests in Nepal, Shaw found that the movements could be understood to be a way to connect the body to a spirit of compassion.
[15][16] In a review of her work in this book, Kent Davis described her "as a realist, conducting research where previous scholars have missed crucial connections, or chosen not to make them.
[20] In her interviews and in-person teaching sessions, Shaw endeavors to promote a view of sexuality for women that is grounded in the "feminine divine".
[15] As a feminist theologian, Shaw has also contributed to efforts to ensure that goddesses are understood as fully integrated deities in Buddhist traditions.
[21] As Shaw states, by "exploring the relationship between human and divine females," she intends to "facilitate increasingly nuanced analyses of the ... contributions of Buddhist women.