From Library Journal
A British academic and a journalist, McNair is optimistic about the increasing sexualization of culture and the media. Going forward from his Mediated Sex, he reports that the presentation of diverse kinds of sex in the media is a "barometer and a catalyst" for democracy in capitalist cultures because it makes the society open to many realities. McNair uses (but does not limit himself to) the usual examples of gender-bending in society, films, television, magazines, art, and the "pornosphere," both British and American. Among his subjects are Stonewall, Monica Lewinsky, Robert Mapplethorpe, Deep Throat, Sex in the City, The Full Monty, Sade, and Brett Easton Ellis. Some examples are given thought-provoking historical analysis, while others are just mentioned. Part of his analysis shows how advanced capitalist countries arrived at this point. Another strand looks at "striptease culture," where ordinary people bare themselves physically or emotionally on the Internet or on confessional or reality television. All of these things make capitalism and the social order more inclusive and thus more stable, argues McNair. This is a provocative thesis, intelligently argued. Suitable for media studies, gender studies, popular culture, academic, and large public library collections. J. Dunham, John Jay Coll., CUNY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Présentation de l'éditeur
From advertising to health education campaigns, sex and sexual imagery now permeate every aspect of culture. Striptease Culture explores this 'sexualization' of contemporary life, relating it to wider changes in post-war society. Divided into three sections, Striptease Culture first traces the development of pornography, following its movement from elite to mass culture and the contemporary fascination with 'porno-chic'. In part two McNair considers popular cultural forms of sexual representation in the media. Moving from backlash elements in straight male culture and changing images of women to the representation of gays in contemporary film and television shows such as Ellen or Queer as Folk, McNair argues that the high profile of sexuality in contemporary culture, rather than evidence of moral decline, is a positive expression of post-war liberalism and the advance of feminism and gay rights, as well as a key contributor to public health education in the era of HIV and AIDS. In part three, McNair turns to the uses of sexuality in contemporary art, examining the artistic 'striptease' of Jeff Koons and others, who have used their own naked bodies in their work. McNair also considers how feminist and gay artists have employed sexuality in the critique and transformation of patriarchy. In a concluding chapter, McNair considers the implications of the rise of striptease culture for the future of sexual politics.
