The Politics of Women's Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior

For nearly three decades, feminists have examined how the female body and ideas about the female body affect women's lives. The Politics of Women's Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior is the first anthology to bring together recent critical writings in this growing and important field, covering such diverse topics as the impact of homophobia on ideas about women athletes, the sources of violence against women, and the consequences of the fetal rights movement.
The Politics of Women's Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior begins by looking at how ideas about women's bodies become culturally accepted. As the writings in the first section demonstrate, this is a political process, which can reflect, reinforce, or challenge the distribution of power between men and women. Subsequent sections look at how, once ideas about women's bodies become accepted, they can serve as powerful -- and political -- tools for controlling women's appearance, sexuality, and behavior. Women are not always passive victims of cultural ideas; rather, they sometimes either collaborate in or resist them. Consequently, this volume also examines the potential for and limits on women's resistance to ideas about female bodies.
Covering a wide range of topics and disciplines, and examining issues of class, ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation, The Politics of Women's Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior is an ideal text for courses in women's studies, gender, and the body.