Blood Stories: Menarche and the Politics of the Female Body in Contemporary U.S. Society

by Janet Lee, Jennifer Sasser-Coen

Overview

Blood Stories focuses on menarche as a central aspect of body politics in contemporary US society, emphasizing that women are integrated into the social and sexual order through the body. Using oral and written narratives of 104 diverse women, the authors address the central question of how menarche as a bodily event signifying womanhood takes on cultural significance in a society that devalues women. Exploring issues of contamination and concealment and the sexualization of women's bodies that occurs at menarche, the authors emphasize how the politics of gender are negotiated on/through women's bodies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415915472
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/27/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

Janet Lee is Associate Professor and Director of Women's Studies at Oregon State University. Jennifer Sasser Coen is a doctoral candidate and instructor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at Oregon State University.

Table of Contents

Introduction Menarche and Body Politics; Chapter 1 Bodies and Blood; Chapter 2 Women Re-membering Firstblood; Chapter 3 Contamination and Concealment; Chapter 4 (Hetero)Sexualization; Chapter 5 Intricate Relationships; Chapter 6 Older Women’s Bodily Histories; conclusion Consciousness and Resistance;