The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
Undeniably the quintessential observer of the human condition, best-selling Morris casts his discerning eye upon the feminine form in this top-to-toe tour of all things female in a continuation of the inquiry he began with the seminalThe Naked Ape(1967). Scrutinizing everything from hair to feet, Morris explores the evolutionary, cultural, and biological traits and tendencies that have caused woman to become the creature she is today. Morris is positively giddy with admiration for his subject, stating that the human female is "far more advanced" than her male counterpart, the result of evolutionary developments that make her the "most remarkable organism" on the planet. And yet, Morris avers, woman has not come far enough--at least in some global cultures, where male domination runs counter to human biological imperative. Thus, each chapter, which correlates to body parts as subtle as the brow and as expected as the breasts, examines how each characteristic has been shaped by social authority. Always entertaining, Morris takes a complex subject and cogently dissects it in fine detail for a critically enlightening experience.Carol HaggasCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved