Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing & Cultural Anxiety - Couverture rigide

Garber, Marjorie

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0415900727 ISBN 13 : 9780415900720

Editeur : Routledge, 1992

Synopsis

"Vested Interests" focuses on the relationship between the aesthetic and the existential, from Shakespeare to Peter Pan and "M. Butterfly", from transsexual surgery and societies for transvestites and transsexuals, to Madonna, Michael Jackson, and even Elvis. Garber establishes that transvestism, far from being a marginal and socially deviant practice, in fact makes culture possible by marking the entrance to the symbolic. Citing the recurrence of transvestite theatre throughout different eras and cultures, Garber views the transvestite as a reiteration of the theatre's underlying problem of representation, because the transvestite acknowledges that every figure on stage is an "impersonator". By examining transvestism's varied social manifestations, the book addresses issues of gender, sexuality, race and class. The argument is illustrated with compelling examples: the sumptuary laws of medieval and early modern Europe, the little-known "transvestite tales" of Mark Twain and the public furor over an art student's portrayal of late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington wearing women's lingerie. This book should be of interest to undergraduates and academics.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Beginning with the bold claim, "There can be no culture without the transvestite," Marjorie Garber explores the nature and significance of cross-dressing and of the West's recurring fascination with it. Rich in anecdote and insight, Vested Interests offers a provocative and entertaining view of our ongoing obsession with dressing up--and with the power of clothes.

Biographie de l'auteur

Director of the Humanities Center at Harvard

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Routledge
• Date d'édition: 1992
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0415900727
• ISBN 13: 9780415900720
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 500
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible