The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

From South Park to Kathy Acker, from Lars Von Trier to Sex and the City, womens sexual organs are demonized. In The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History, Emma L.E. Rees investigates the evolution of this demonization: she considers how writers, artists and filmmakers contend with the dilemma of he vagina's puzzling 'covert visibility' and how the c-word is an obscenity that both legitimates and perpetuates the fractured identities of women globally. In our postmodern, porn-obsessed culture, vaginas appear to be everywhere, literally or symbolically but, crucially, they are as silenced as they are objectified. Even common slang terms for the vagina can be seen as an attempt to divert attention away from the reality of womens lived sexual experiences: slang offers a convenient distraction from something taboo. The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History is an important contribution to the ongoing debate in understanding the feminine identity.

Reviews

The broadest survey yet ....lively, thought-provoking, and richly researched. -- Naomi Wolf, author of Vagina: A New Biography
At last! A book on the vagina that I feel privileged to endorse. This careful literary and cultural history explores the vagina primarily as a loaded cultural symbol. It critiques the numerous ways in which the female sexual organs have had deleterious meanings projected onto them by patriarchal society. A magnificent achievement, Rees's study is as insightful in its analysis as it is comprehensive in its historical coverage. -- Lisa Downing, Professor of French Discourses of Sexuality, University of Birmingham, UK.
This really wonderful book on the cultural history of the vagina is scholarly and accessible, entertaining and serious. It is stylish and packed with insight; it will be seized upon and devoured by the new feminists. The Vagina bejazzles. I highly recommend it. -- Sally R Munt, Professor of Cultural and Gender Studies, University of Sussex
With Vagina, Rees is aiming for something well beyond feminism. To get there, she uses humor, numerous examples, and careful explanation as she moves effortlessly through a variety of historical periods and a wide genre of art to demonstrate her point. -- Judy A. Hayden, Professor of English and Writing and Director of the Women's Studies Program, University of Tampa, USA.
Analyses of representations of the vagina in art and culture couple with feminist politics in this impassioned tract by University of Chester lecturer Rees. * Publisher's Weekly *
Rees book is the kind of work we need more of if we are to challenge and reconfigure how we understand women and sexuality in contemporary discourse. -- Shahidha Bari, Queen Mary, University of London, UK * Times Higher Education *
For readers disappointed by Naomi Wolfs treatise on a similar topic last year, this is the book youve been waiting for This may not be the definitive text on the vagina Rees is clear that she cant overturn centuries of embarrassment and taboo in a single book but its an excellent place to start. -- Kaite Welsh * The Independent on Sunday *
It is my contention that you will know quite instinctively if you are the target reader for a book describing itself as a literary and cultural history of vaginas. (Vaginae Vaginodes) How does this description of Judy Chicagos art make you feel Each plate, a vulvar motif at its centre, represents a womans yearning for autonomy and recognition away from patriarchys eradications and constraints. If you found that intriguing, rather than snigger-worthy or arcanely academic, you will enjoy whats on offer here. There is a learned digression on other words for vagina...and a survey of depictions of female genitalia in folk tales, film, literature, art and television... The examples are well chosen and engaging. -- Helen Lewis * New Statesman *
Rees is especially strong on the rapidly evolving (and more in-your-face) artistic (or would-be artistic) representation of the [vagina] in contemporary (Western, and even here basically American and British) culture, both fringe and more mainstream...Rees offers many interesting examples and the odd tidbit[s] (Courbet's L'origine du monde comes from the collection of psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan!), and though she works more by example than evaluation, there's a lot of useful information here. -- M.A. Ortherfer * The Complete Review *
Dont be fooled by the playful pink coverthis book is not for the faint of heart. Ranging from Indian folktales of vagina dentata to the surprising popularity of vaginas in postmodern art, Rees book is a whirlwind tour of the literary and cultural history of the treatment (and mistreatment) of female genitalia. -- Rebecca Hayes * Booklist *

Author Bio

Emma L.E. Rees is Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Chester, UK.