Reading Sex in the Eighteenth Century - Bodies and Gender in English Erotic Culture (Hardcover)

Karen Harvey explores the construction of sexual difference and gender identity in eighteenth-century England. Using erotic texts and their illustrations, and rooting this evidence firmly in historical context, Harvey provides a thoroughgoing critique of the orthodoxy of recent work on sexual difference in the history of the body. She argues that eighteenth-century English erotic culture combined a distinctive mode of writing and reading in which the form of refinement was applied to the matter of sex. Erotic culture was male-centred and it was in this environment, Harvey argues, that men could enjoy both the bawdy, raucous, libidinous elements of the eighteenth century with the refined politeness for which the period is also renowned. This book makes a significant contribution to the history of masculinity and advocates a new approach to change in gender history, one capable of capturing the processes of negotiation and contestation integral to cultural change.

General

Imprint:	Cambridge UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories
Release date:	February 2005
First published:	2004
Authors:	Karen Harvey
Dimensions:	236 x 164 x 21mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	272
ISBN-13:	978-0-521-82235-0
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > 16th to 18th centuries
LSN:	0-521-82235-1
Barcode:	9780521822350

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!