Reviews for The rejected body

The average rating for The rejected body based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-12-29 00:00:00 Cliff McDaniel Holy discourse, Batman! It's a book with the word "feminist" and the word "disability" in the title, and it didn't piss me off. For the last couple of years just one has been a bad sign - clearly I wasn't reading the right stuff. Pretty much what it says on the tin: a compact but thorough unpack of how feminist theory - treating gender as the social construct of biological difference - can illuminate disability theory - treating ability as the social construct of the biological difference between well and disabled bodies. Mostly free of the stuff that has been pinging my discourse bullshit radar for the past few years. There's an entire chapter on body transcendence that I found interesting and thoughtful, not stupid. And actually the best parts, for me, got really down and dirty with why feminist theory and disability theory actually sit very uneasily against each other, because yes yes yes thank you. I think what makes it so good is that it's the perfect amount of personal. There's a whole section on why discourse shouldn't subsume the reality of bodily suffering. And Wendell tells this joke that's really only okay to laugh at if you've been there. "The good news is that it doesn't kill you. The bad news is that it doesn't kill you." Yeah, pretty much. Actually, I'd recommend this as an intermediate primer - the introductory chapters are excellent background, and the rest is erudite without being impenetrable. I say that having read a fair amount of feminist theory, but that was several years ago.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-05-27 00:00:00 Karin Irvine Too academic for my current tastes, but there were some real gems in the "Myth of Control" section. A quote: "People with disabilities or incurable illnesses often find that long after they have accepted the conditions of their bodies, their friends and acquaintances want them to continue looking for cures. Out of kindness and a wish to help, but also frequently because of a frantic desire not to be forced to believe that the body cannot be controlled, people offer endless advice about possible treatments. "I know you're tried naturopathy, but you haven't been to *my* naturopath." To turn down a suggestion is to risk the judgment that you do not want to get well. To pursue every suggestion is a full-time job (with a price tag instead of a paycheck). For people with life-threatening illnesses, pressures from loved ones to seek a cure can consume their remaining time in medical and quasi-medical quests." p. 97 Another quote: "...the first commandment of sickness is....Get well or die. Your not getting well depresses everyone--the doctors who have tried to fix you, your friends and relatives, even people who hardly know you. Your hanging around without recovering reminds them that not everything, not even everything terribly important, can be fixed." p. 105