The Anatomy of gender Book

Historically, the female body has been enshrined as an aesthetic object. It has been associated with nature, sin, and danger. It has been reduced to gynecology and blamed for women's inferior status. This collection of seventeen essays covers a wide range of women's studies topics that are related directly to the portrayal of the female body. Contributors focus on links between cultural representation and the physical treatment of women. Following an introductory discussion of perspectives on "the body" as raised by feminist theorists, part one of the volume explores the ways men have represented women's bodies in art, literature, historical writing, religion, and in popular culture. Part two addresses problems associated with the physical treatment of women by those within the field of medicine, the practice of social policy, and the practice of law. Part three focuses on the recent women's struggle to reclaim control of their bodies by creating their own definitions and representations and, in the process, to proclaim their own intimate knowledge of themselves as women.