South Sea Maidens: Western Fantasy and Sexual Politics in the South Pacific

(Hardback)

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From the first European contact with Tahiti in 1767, the myth of the South Sea maiden has endured through many incarnations. Although the malden frequently provided an idealized antidote to Western women's self-assertion, the South Pacific also afforded a space where boundaries between the sexes could be relaxed and transgressed. From James Cook and Captain Bllgh to James Michener and Margaret Mead, the "Island girl" has occupied a special place in the erotic imagination of the West. In a sweeping study that embraces history, literature, visual arts, anthropology and film, this study gives fresh insight into the myths and reality of a Western icon. While women from far off lands have always been presented as exotic and alluring, the South Sea maiden has come to symbolize feminine sexuality, as an integral part of the adventure, sensuality, and romance of the South Pacific. Everyone from early explorers to 19th century writers and artists to latter day anthropologists, film makers, and tourism promoters have extolled their virtues and their bodies. Sturma looks behind the popular cliches to reveal how the myth-making process reflected not only Western desires, but the cut and thrust of changing sexual politics. The result is an intriguing look at both South Sea image-makers and the women who they found so seductive.

Reviews

Anyone with a passing interest in South Sea maidens will welcome it. As part of the series 'Contributions to the Study of World History', it speaks to historians, but scholars and students from many disciplines will find Sturma's survey and bibliography useful.-The International History Review
"Anyone with a passing interest in South Sea maidens will welcome it. As part of the series 'Contributions to the Study of World History', it speaks to historians, but scholars and students from many disciplines will find Sturma's survey and bibliography useful."-The International History Review

Author Bio

MICHAEL STURMA is Senior Lecturer in History at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, he obtained his Ph.D. from the Australian National University in 1980 and has resided in Australia ever since. He has also taught at the University of New England. He is author of Vice in a Vicious Society: Crime and Convicts in Mid-Nineteenth Century New South Wales (1983) and Australian Rock'n'Roll: The First Wave (1991).