Obscene Gestures

Download or read book Obscene Gestures written by Patrick Lawrence and published by Fordham University Press. This book was released on 2022-06-07 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on sources as diverse as Supreme Court decisions, nightclub comedy, congressional records, and cultural theory, Obscene Gestures explores the many contradictory vectors of twentieth-century moralist controversies surrounding literary and artistic works from Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer to those of Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Kathy Acker, Robert Mapplethorpe, 2 Live Crew, Tony Kushner, and others. Patrick S. Lawrence dives into notorious obscenity debates to reconsider the divergent afterlives of artworks that were challenged or banned over their taboo sexual content to reveal how these controversies affected their critical reception and commercial success in ways that were often determined at least in part by racial, gender, or sexual stereotypes and pernicious ethnographic reading practices. Starting with early postwar touchstone cases and continuing through the civil rights, feminist, and LGBTQ+ movements, Lawrence demonstrates on one level that breaking sexual taboos in literary and cultural works often comes with cultural cachet and increased sales. At the same time, these benefits are distributed unequally, leading to the persistence of exclusive hierarchies and inequalities. Obscene Gestures takes its bearings from recent studies of the role of obscenity in literary history and canon formation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, extending their insights into the postwar period when broad legal latitude for obscenity was established but when charges of obscenity still carried immense symbolic and political weight. Moreover, the rise of social justice movements around this time provides necessary context for understanding the application of legal precedents, changes in the publishing industry, and the diversification of the canon of American letters. Obscene Gestures, therefore, advances the study of obscenity to include recent developments in the understanding of race, gender, and sexuality while refining our understanding of late-twentieth-century American literature and political culture.

Download or read book Rude Hand Gestures of the World written by Romana Lefevre and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2011-10-21 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With this illustrated guide, discover what hand gestures can offend others around the world—and whether you avoid making them or not is up to you. A hand gesture is arguably the most effective form of expression, whether you’re defaming a friend’s mother or telling a perfect stranger to get lost. Learn how to go beyond just flipping the bird with this illustrated guide to rude hand gestures all around the world, from asking for sex in the Middle East to calling someone crazy in Italy. Detailed photographs of hand models and subtle tips for proper usage make Rude Hand Gestures of the World the perfect companion for globe-trotters looking to offend. “If you’ve resolved to make the most of your travels, a copy of Rude Hand Gestures of the World to know what gestures you should avoid while abroad. Better safe than sorry!” —Buzzfeed

Download or read book Obscene Gestures for Women written by Janet Kauffman and published by Alfred A. Knopf. This book was released on 1989 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most important rural women writers, Janet Kauffman, presents this collection of fifteen stories of a world that is succumbing to the ceaseless erosion of what is tender, innocent, natural, and true.

Download or read book Conventional Gestures written by Richard L Epstein and published by Advanced Reasoning Forum. This book was released on 2018-11-05 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conventional gestures are those movements we make, such as waving hello and shaking hands, that are part of a learned, shared, symbolic system. In this book Richard L. Epstein working with the illustrator Alex Raffi examines how such gestures mean and how we can study them. Drawing on their collection of over 400 American gestures, available on the Advanced Reasoning Forum website, they examine problems of methodology and the nature of gestures in relation to the work of others who have studied and collected gestures from various cultures. An extensive annotated bibliography describes and comments on virtually all known collections of conventional gestures.

Download or read book Dictionary of Gestures written by Francois Caradec and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2023-08-01 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated guide to more than 850 gestures and their meanings around the world, from a nod of the head to a click of the heels. Gestures convey meaning with a flourish. A vigorous nod of the head, a bold jut of the chin, an enthusiastic thumbs-up: all speak louder than words. Yet the same gesture may have different meanings in different parts of the world. What Americans understand as the “A-OK gesture,” for example, is an obscene insult in the Arab world. This volume is the reference book we didn't know we needed—an illustrated dictionary of 850 gestures and their meanings around the world. It catalogs voluntary gestures made to communicate openly—as distinct from sign language, dance moves, involuntary “tells,” or secret handshakes—and explains what the gesture conveys in a variety of locations. It is organized by body part, from top to bottom, from head (nodding, shaking, turning) to foot (scraping, kicking, playing footsie). We learn that “to oscillate the head while gently throwing it back” communicates approval in some countries even though it resembles the headshake of disapproval used in other countries; that “to tap a slightly inflated cheek” constitutes an erotic invitation when accompanied by a wink; that the middle finger pointed in the air signifies approval in South America. We may already know that it is a grave insult in the Middle East and Asia to display the sole of one's shoe, but perhaps not that motorcyclists sometimes greet each other by raising a foot. Illustrated with clever line drawings and documented with quotations from literature (the author, François Caradec, was a distinguished and prolific historian of literature, culture, and humorous oddities, as well as a novelist and poet), this dictionary offers readers unique lessons in polylingual meaning.

Download or read book Don't Get Me Wrong! written by Julia Grosse and published by Bierke Publishing (Acc). This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photographs of hands gestures show the differences between cultures around the world.

Download or read book Field Guide to Stains written by Virginia M. Friedman and published by Quirk Books. This book was released on 2015-05-26 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get to know your stains—and then bid them goodbye forever! Learn everything about more than 100 stains—including their habits, their habitats, and (most importantly) how to make them go away. From wine to wiper fluid, Field Guide to Stains provides effective techniques for rescuing clothes, upholstery, carpet, and wallpaper from stains caused by: Fruits and vegetables Dairy products Household items Office supplies Sauces and condiments Beauty products Bodily functions And more! Featuring a glossary of cleaning techniques and the basic products any would-be clean person should have on hand, this guide is the perfect accoutrement for the laundry room, kitchen, nursery, garage, or any other place stains might occur.