Plastic surgery, obesity, anorexia, pregnancy, prescription drugs, disability, piercings, steroids, and sex re-assignment surgery: over the past two decades there have been major changes in the ways we understand, treat, alter, and care for our bodies. The Body Reader is a compelling, cutting-edge, and timely collection that provides a close look at the emergence of the study of the body. From prenatal genetic testing and "t;manscaping"; to televideo cybersex and the "meth economy," this innovative work digs deep into contemporary lifestyles and current events to cover key concepts and theories about the body. A combination of twenty one classic readings and original essays, the contributors highlight gender, race, class, ability, and sexuality, paying special attention to bodies that are at risk, bodies that challenge norms, and media representations of the body. Ultimately, The Body Reader makes it clear that the body is not neutral-it is the entry point into cultural and structural relationships, emotional and subjective experiences, and the biological realms of flesh and bone. Contributors: Patricia Hill Collins, Karen Dias, H. Hugh Floyd, Jr., Arthur Frank, Sander L. Gilman, Gillian Haddow, Richard Huggins, Matthew Immergut, Lea Kent, Kristen Karlberg, Steve Kroll-Smith, Mary Kosut, Jarvis Jay Masters, Lisa Jean Moore, Tracey Owens Patton, William J. Peace, Jason Pine, Eric Plemons, Barbara Katz Rothman, Edward Slavishak, Phillip Vannini, and Dennis Waskul.
Acknowledgments viii; Introduction: Not Just the Reflexive Reflex: Flesh and Bone in the Social Sciences 1; Mary Kosut and Lisa Jean Moore;; Part I: Vulnerable Bodies 51; 1. The Body's Problems with Illness 58; Arthur Frank; 2. Laboring Now: Current Cultural Constructions of Pregnancy, Birth, and Mothering 90; Barbara Katz Rothman; 3. Am I Good Enough for my Family? Fetal Genetic Bodies and Prenatal Genetic Testing 121; Kristen Karlberg; 4. Assume the Position: The Changing Contours of Sexual Violence 146; Patricia Hill Collins; 5. The Phenomenology of Death, Embodiment and Organ Transplantation 197; Gillian Haddow; 6. Chemically Reactive Bodies, Knowledge, and Society 226; Steve Kroll-Smith and H. Hugh Floyd;; Part II: Bodies as Mediums 256; 7. "Made by the Work": A Century of Laboring Bodies in the United States 266; Ed Slavishak; 8. Embodied Capitalism and the Meth Economy 291; Jason Pine; 9. Extreme Bodies/Extreme Culture 324; Mary Kosut; 10. The Racial Nose 353; Sander L. Gilman; 11. To Die For: The Semiotic Seductive Power of the Tanned Body 404; Phillip Vannini and Aaron M. McCright; 12. The Naked Self: Being a Body in Televideo Cybersex 450; Dennis D. Waskul;; Part III: Extraordinary Bodies 506; 13. Manscaping: The Tangle of Nature, Culture and Male Body Hair 512; Matthew Immergut; 14. Incongruent Bodies: Teaching While Leaking 545; Lisa Jean Moore; 15. Envisioning the Body in Relation: Finding Sex, Changing Sex 567; Eric Plemons; 16. Scars 588; Jarvis Jay Masters; 17. Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability and Adaptive Sports 593; William J. Peace;; Part IV: Bodies in Media 616; 18. Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair 622; Tracey Owens Patton; 19. Fighting Abjection: Representing Fat Women 654; Le'a Kent; 20. Images of Addiction: The Representation of Illicit Drug Use in Popular Media 686; Richard Huggins; 21. The Ana Sanctuary: Women's Pro-Anorexic Narratives in Cyberspace 712; Karen Dias; Contributors 740; Index
