Gender in the Mirror: Cultural Imagery and Women's Agency

by Diana Tietjens Meyers

The cultural imagery of women is deeply ingrained in our consciousness. So deply, in fact, that feminists see this as a fundamental threat to female autonomy because it enshrines procreative heterosexuality as well as the relations of domination and subordination between men and women. This book is about this cultural imagery - and how, once it is internalized, it shapes perception, reflection, judgement, and desire. These images have a deep impact not only on the individual psyche, but also on the social, political, and cultural syntax of society as a whole. Meyeres argues for the necessity of crafting a dissident, empowering, and emancipatory counter-imagery for women. Rigorous and accessible, this work should address the interests of readers across a range of intellectual disciplines.

Genres: Gender Studies, Nonfiction, Feminism

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002