Boston Athenæum

December 5, 2017 at the Boston Athenæum. At the risk of stating the obvious: we exist in the world in bodies. How our bodies interact in cultural spaces shapes us and shapes our cultural spaces. This talk examines how the "body politics" of women's land—communal living spaces created by and for women—shape individual experiences and larger expectations about gender, race, identity, and virtue. How does nudity change how bodies are perceived and policed? What does being connected to the landscape have to do with excretion? And how do eating, food, and gender intertwine in women-only spaces? This talk will explore the complex cultural intersections of body/gender and self/community.