In praise of the backside


Book Description

An ethnological and sociological reflection is lead by Professor Döpp on this fascinating matter that brings to the most incongruous revelations. Beyond our cultural and religious upbringings, women and men pursue their fantasies, which the author tries to unravel with the rigour of a scientist for the pleasure of our eyes and of our mind.




In Praise of the Backside 120 illustrations


Book Description

Mega Square In Praise of the Backside celebrates the most sensual part of the female body. The insightful text by Hans-Jürgen Döpp discusses the backside as a feature that stands for both powerful eroticism and supple femininity, seducing famous artists from every genre. This title is sure to entice and delight a wide audience with its lively, provocative images.




Reading from Behind


Book Description

'A serious work of theory.' The Guardian ‘Jonathan Allan has come up with a whole theory of the arsehole.’ Dazed and Confused In a resolute deviation from the governing totality of the phallus, Reading from Behind offers a radical reorientation of the anus and its role in the collective imaginary. It exposes what is deeply hidden in our cultural production, and challenges the authority of paranoid, critical thought. A beautiful work that invites us beyond the rejection of phallocentricism, to a new way of being and thinking about sex, culture and identity.







Beauty around the World


Book Description

Taking the concept of beauty seriously, this encyclopedia examines how humanity has sought and continues to seek what is "beautiful" in a variety of cultural contexts, giving readers an understanding of how to look at beauty both intellectually and critically. Is beauty ever more than "skin deep"? Arguably yes, considering that the concept of beauty—and the pursuit of it—has shaped cultures worldwide, across every time period, and has even served to change the course of history. Studying beauty practices yields insight into social status, wealth, political ideology, religious doctrine, and gender expectations, including gender nonconformity. A truly interdisciplinary text, Beauty around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia presents an insightful perspective on beauty that draws from philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and feminist studies, giving readers a unique view of world beauty practices. This volume offers information about beauty practices from the past to the present in alphabetical entries that address terms and topics such as "beards," "dreadlocks," "Geisha," "moko tattoos," and "progressive muscularity." Readers will better comprehend how beauty shapes many social interactions in profound ways worldwide, and that the unspoken social agreements that shape ideals of attractiveness and desirability within any given culture can matter very much. The encyclopedia's entries challenge readers to consider the questions "What is beauty?" and "Why does it matter?" A comprehensive bibliography is a valuable resource for further research.




The Butt Book


Book Description

Tall butts, short butts, round butts, flat butts. Butts on mummies and butts on mommies. Butts on giraffes and elephants and dogs and... FISH? Yes, even fish butts are celebrated in this tribute to backsides, rumps, tushies, keisters, heinies, and derrieres. Dozens of funny rhymes and pages of laugh-out-loud pictures pay homage to a body part that keeps kids and grown-ups giggling with glee. Bottoms up!




Billy Backside and Other Stories


Book Description

A blind calliope player longs to visit the Rio Grande, two siblings take a magical train trip, a boy in Santa Fe sprouts angel wings, and a man recounts his childhood in wartime Holland. These wonderful tales and many more highlight David Rachlin’s vivid imagination and keen sense of place, reflecting the regions of the United States and Europe where he has lived. His stories move from realistic fiction to magical realism to science fiction and back again. From the 20th Century up to an Earth settlement on Mars, the stories are full of wonderful characters from all walks of life.




Zipporah (Secrets from the Backside of the Desert - Guide for Gifted Women of God)


Book Description

This book explores Zipporah (Moses' Ethiopian, Black, Midianite wife who was the daughter of Jethro [Raguel]and the sister of Hobab) as the heroine who God chose to assist Moses' efforts to lead his people from Egypt to the promise land. Few realize that she actually saved Moses' life. The book points to many other actions of women such as Abraham's wife, Keturah, where God has chosen Black women to step up to and meet the challenges in accomplishing His will. It shows that although God created races and kindred, He also expects us to look beyond the differences, reach for the gifts that each has to offer and work in love and unity on one accord.




Butts


Book Description

“Winning, cheeky, and illuminating….What appears initially as a folly with a look-at-this cover and title becomes, thanks to Radke’s intelligence and curiosity, something much meatier, entertaining, and wise.” —The Washington Post “Lively and thorough, Butts is the best kind of nonfiction.” —Esquire, Best Books of 2022 A “carefully researched and reported work of cultural history” (The New York Times) that explores how one body part has influenced the female—and human—experience for centuries, and what that obsession reveals about our lives today. Whether we love them or hate them, think they’re sexy, think they’re strange, consider them too big, too small, or anywhere in between, humans have a complicated relationship with butts. It is a body part unique to humans, critical to our evolution and survival, and yet it has come to signify so much more: sex, desire, comedy, shame. A woman’s butt, in particular, is forever being assessed, criticized, and objectified, from anxious self-examinations trying on jeans in department store dressing rooms to enduring crass remarks while walking down a street or high school hallways. But why? In Butts: A Backstory, reporter, essayist, and RadioLab contributing editor Heather Radke is determined to find out. Spanning nearly two centuries, this “whip-smart” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) cultural history takes us from the performance halls of 19th-century London to the aerobics studios of the 1980s, the music video set of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and the mountains of Arizona, where every year humans and horses race in a feat of gluteal endurance. Along the way, she meets evolutionary biologists who study how butts first developed; models whose measurements have defined jean sizing for millions of women; and the fitness gurus who created fads like “Buns of Steel.” She also examines the central importance of race through figures like Sarah Bartmann, once known as the “Venus Hottentot,” Josephine Baker, Jennifer Lopez, and other women of color whose butts have been idolized, envied, and despised. Part deep dive reportage, part personal journey, part cabinet of curiosities, Butts is an entertaining, illuminating, and thoughtful examination of why certain silhouettes come in and out of fashion—and how larger ideas about race, control, liberation, and power affect our most private feelings about ourselves and others.




IN PRAISE OF NAHUM TATE


Book Description

In Praise of Nahum Tate covers a wide range of reading experiences including poetry, short stories, reviews and politics. It features an eclectic poetry collection, ranging from the muscular, old-fashioned formality of ‘Old Peg Remembers,’ a sonnet on the story of Pegasus and Bellerophon, to relaxed, free verse observations of nature and studies of family life. ‘Folded,’ is a bitter-sweet portrait of a family coping with divorce. ‘The Commonwealth Of Crows’ is a sequence of sixteen poems, illuminated by Julie Foley’s beautiful artwork, which looks at corvids from many different angles. The short stories are interwoven with humour and dark drama, and even explore magical realism in ‘The Clock Of Real Time.’ The book also features an exclusive interview with Robin Williamson, Scottish musician, singer, songwriter and storyteller.