Full Description
The act of undressing has a multitude of meanings, which vary dramatically when this commonly private gesture is presented for public consumption. This ground-breaking book explores the significance of undressing in various cultural and social contexts.
As we are increasingly obsessed with dress choices as signifiers of who we are and how we feel, an investigation into what happens as we remove our clothes has never been more pertinent. Exploring three main issues - politics, tease, and clothes without bodies - Acts of Undressing discusses these key themes through an in-depth and eclectic mix of case studies including flashing at Mardi Gras, the World Burlesque Games, and 'shoefiti' used by gangs to mark territories.
Building on leading theories of dress and the body, from academics including Roland Barthes and Mario Perniolato, Ruth Barcan and Erving Goffman, Acts of Undressing is essential reading for students of fashion, sociology, anthropology, visual culture, and related subjects.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Private Acts, Public Display
Chapter 2: Narrative Tease: Neo-burlesque and Storytelling through Striptease
Chapter 3: 'Where the Garment Gapes': The Eroticism of Intermittence
Chapter 4: Deviance and Disruption: Streaking, Mooning and Flashing
Chapter 5: Make Love, Not War: Conflict, Resistance and the Revolutionary Body
Chapter 6: Abandoned Clothes: Separating Dress from Body
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
