Reading from Behind: A Cultural Analysis of the Anus

(Paperback)

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Description

'A serious work of theory.' The Guardian Jonathan Allan has come up with a whole theory of the arsehole. Dazed and Confused In a resolute deviation from the governing totality of the phallus, Reading from Behind offers a radical reorientation of the anus and its role in the collective imaginary. It exposes what is deeply hidden in our cultural production, and challenges the authority of paranoid, critical thought. A beautiful work that invites us beyond the rejection of phallocentricism, to a new way of being and thinking about sex, culture and identity.

Reviews

Looks at the subject of the booty with remarkable enthusiasm. * Attitude *
Jonathan Allan has come up with a whole theory of the arsehole. * Dazed and Confused *
Readers outside the academy will be rewarded with a fine example of textual analysisand, possibly, a new appreciation of the anus as the most democratic and empowering of our body parts. * Literary Review of Canada *
A serious work of theory, exploring the backside as a site of humiliation and disgust. * The Guardian *
Allan's work is, in a sense, groundbreaking ... opening up a whole new field of study ... Allan's book should be required reading. * The Independent *
Assholes are like opinions: Everyone has them but no one has more opinions on assholes than Jonathan Allan. * VICE *
A remarkably fresh and original contribution to contemporary queer studies. I am confident that, with Reading from Behind, Allan will emerge as a widely respected critical voice of his generation. * David William Foster, author of Sexual Textualties: Essays on Queer/ing Latin American Writing *
Entertaining and informative. * Merrill Cole, author of The Other Orpheus: A Poetics of Modern Homosexuality *
Allan reorients studies of anality. * Todd Reeser, author of Masculinities in Theory *

Author Bio

Jonathan A. Allan holds the Canada research chair in queer theory at Brandon University, Canada.