Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body: M-Z
- ISBN-10
- 0313341478
- ISBN-13
- 9780313341472
- Pages
- 577
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2008
- Publisher
- Greenwood Press
- Author
- Victoria Pitts-Taylor
Description
This thought-provoking, 2-volume encyclopedia presents articles on the parts of the body and the past and current cultural attitudes and practices that concern them. Accessible to undergraduate students and of interest to the general reader, each article is divided into multiple treatments, issues, and cultural phenomenon that have been applied to the body part in question. No body part goes undiscussed, with sections included, for example, on skin, teeth, testicles, neck, nose, face, and abdomen. For the waist, the full article is on the corset. The contributors are academics and graduate students mainly in sociology, in the US and the UK. The articles incorporate feminism, post-colonialism, and other contemporary theoretical viewpoints in their discussion, as well as the health risks associated with certain practices. Some b & w photos are included; each article concludes with a list of references.
