Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-185) and index.
Contents:
Beneath the veil -- 'A length of horsehair twine' -- A body of ivory -- The inverted body -- Opposing anatomies -- Life as a novel -- Civilization and its discontented -- An amphibious creature -- Puer senilis -- The 'Androgynosphinx' -- Amazons -- Flaming creatures -- A certain Mr Fish -- 'Ladies and Gentlemen...and others' -- The latest mode.
Summary:
In January 2011, Jean Paul Gaultier's haute couture runway show ended with the image of a willowy blonde bride in a diaphanous gown. The bride was a man, and one of the first models to walk for both men's and women's collections. The event marked the start of a trend. "This ad is gender neutral," proclaimed a 2016 poster for the fashion brand Diesel; "I resist definitions," announced a Calvin Klein ad in the same year, while a Louis Vuitton shoot featured Jaden Smith wearing a skirt.The art of Edward Burne-Jones and Gustave Moreau, the writings of Oscar Wilde, and the mystic Josephin Peladan prove that the turn of the previous century was as compelled by androgyny as this one. Patrick Mauries presents a cultural history of androgyny--accompanied by a striking selection of more than 120 images, from nineteenth-century painting to contemporary fashion photography--drawing on the worlds of art and literature to give us a deeper understanding of the strange but timeless human drive to escape from defined categories.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.