Naked exhibitionism : gendered performance and public exposure / edited by Claire Nally and Angela Smith.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Nally, Claire, 1979- editor.

Smith, Angela, 1969- editor.

Series:

International library of cultural studies ; 28.

International library of cultural studies ; 28

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Exhibitionism.

Nudity--Social aspects.

Nudity.

Women--Identity.

Women.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (204 p.)

Other Title:

Gendered performance and public exposure

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : I.B. Tauris ; New York : Distributed in the U.S. and Canada exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

"What does it mean to be naked in public? Approaching this question from across the disciplines, Naked Exhibitionism examines the evolution of female exhibitionism from criminal taboo to prime-time entertainment. Taking an interdisciplinary approach which brings together all fields of popular culture, including literature, media, film and linguistics, Claire Nally and Angela Smith offer an examination of gendered exhibitionism from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. They ask whether bodily exposure provides the liberation it professes to or restricts our most secret selves to the sanitised realm of socially-sanctioned gender roles. From the art of burlesque as a riotous kingdom of the imagination to reality TV which helps women to unearth their 'true' and buried feminine selves, Nally and Smith explore how the critical history and theory of exhibitionism intersects with the wider movement towards gender equality. Examining effects of second-wave feminism to problematise the naked female form, female and gender-transgressive performers from Bette Davis to Dita von Teese are placed in their cultural context. In order to demonstrate that female exhibitionism remains at the heart of popular culture, this book also examines the works of Peter Ackroyd and the controversial playwright Sarah Kane, uncovering the contradictions behind the evolving representations of public exposure. Within a post-feminist framework, the cultural constructions behind the repackaging of female exhibitionism are explored and the prominence of bodily exposure in popular culture examined, along with the implications of those artists who perform gender as a public masquerade. Finally, hit TV shows Ladette to Lady and How to Look Good Naked are interrogated to expose the buried contradictions behind this public unveiling: are women seizing control of their own identity, or is this revelation an illusion? Innovative, unflinching and pertinent, Naked Exhibitionism explores naked bodies in the public gaze and critically reformulates the feminist and cultural debate around the performance of gender."--Dust jacket.

Contents:

The naked ugliness of Beyond the forest (1949) / Martin Shingler

'Look! Hands off!' : the performance of female exhibitionism in Angela Carter's The infernal desire machines of Doctor Hoffman and Nights at the circus / Anna Watz

The abject body in Sarah Kane's mise-en-scène of desire / Rina Kim

'Waving genitals and manuscripts' : Ginsberg's 'Howl' and Butler's Excitable speech / Andrew Webb

Cross-dressing and grrrly shows : twenty-first century burlesque / Claire Nally

From girl power to lady power? : postfeminism and Ladette to lady / Angela Smith

Bingo wings and muffin tops : negotiating the exhibition of 'imperfect' bodies in How to look good naked / Linda McLoughlin.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780755698561

0755698568

OCLC:

910238005