Sexy Bodies: The Strange Carnalities of Feminism

Are bodies sexy? How, and in what sorts of ways? This text investigates the production of sexual bodies and sexual practices, of sexualities which are dyke, bi-, transracial, and even hetero-. It celebrates lesbian and queer sexualities but also explores what runs underneath and within all sexualities, discovering what is fundamentally weird and strange about all bodies, all carnalities. Looking at a variety of cultural forms and texts, the contributors consider the particular charms of girls and horses, from National Velvet to Marnie ; discuss figures of the lesbian body from vampires to tribades to tomboys; uncover virtual lesbians in the fiction of Jeanette Winterson; track desire in the music of legendary Blues singers; and investigate the ever-scrutinized and celebrated body of Elizabeth Taylor. The collection includes two pieces of fiction by Mary Fallon and Nicole Brossard.