Nudity
«'Ultimately it's fascinating, as it could hardly fail to be.'Giles Whittell, Times'Ive met a lot of folks that think a lot about nudity, but none understand it as well as Ruth Barcan. Nudity: A Cultural Anatomy is a fascinating book about a fascinating subject, and the first of its kind. It goes deep inside nudity, picks it apart, unveils its mysteries, and shines light on its complexities. I was amazed.'Annie Sprinkle, Ph.D., Nude performer turned Sexologist 'Ruth Barcans brilliant study of the social meanings of nudity is at once learned, witty, and incisive. To be nude is never to be naked: this book ranges broadly across philosophy, religion, literature and popular culture to tell us why, in a lucid analysis of our divided and complex status as human beings.' John Frow, University of Edinburgh'Nudity interests everyone, but few understand it deeply. Ruth Barcan does. With splendid insight, she examines theory and practice to elucidate nudity as identity, performan»
Nudity features regularly in all major media. So why is it illegal to appear naked in public? Nudity has always been paradoxical. In modern consumer culture, it is actively encouraged in some contexts, but criminal or deviant in others. Les mer
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Barcan encounters morticians, nudists, strippers, nurses, tattooists, artists and makers of pornography. She demonstrates that ordinary people, popular culture and high philosophy are all sources of wisdom about the naked body. Nudity is one of the most fundamental metaphors in the Western tradition - indeed, it is a metaphor for human nature itself - and yet this book is one of the first to explore its paradoxes in depth. Barcan's mission is to shine a light on a topic that has been largely ignored, even within cultural studies, despite its ability to titillate, shock or entertain. From pubic hair fashions through to a Royal "full monty," Nudity: A Cultural Anatomy is a fascinating blend of meaningful minutiae and big philosophical questions about the most unnatural state of nature in the modern West.
Detaljer
- Forlag
- Berg Publishers
- Innbinding
- Innbundet
- Språk
- Engelsk
- Sider
- 288
- ISBN
- 9781859738726
- Utgivelsesår
- 2004
- Format
- 23 x 16 cm
Anmeldelser
«'Ultimately it's fascinating, as it could hardly fail to be.'Giles Whittell, Times'Ive met a lot of folks that think a lot about nudity, but none understand it as well as Ruth Barcan. Nudity: A Cultural Anatomy is a fascinating book about a fascinating subject, and the first of its kind. It goes deep inside nudity, picks it apart, unveils its mysteries, and shines light on its complexities. I was amazed.'Annie Sprinkle, Ph.D., Nude performer turned Sexologist 'Ruth Barcans brilliant study of the social meanings of nudity is at once learned, witty, and incisive. To be nude is never to be naked: this book ranges broadly across philosophy, religion, literature and popular culture to tell us why, in a lucid analysis of our divided and complex status as human beings.' John Frow, University of Edinburgh'Nudity interests everyone, but few understand it deeply. Ruth Barcan does. With splendid insight, she examines theory and practice to elucidate nudity as identity, performan»