About the Book
Wild and strange stories have been told about the female body since antiquity. Ranging from the empowering to the absurd, they have not only survived, but continue to influence modern discourse.
The Shrinking Goddess brings together these myths about the female form – including poisoned hymens and witches with multiple mammalia – and traces subsequent male efforts to ‘tame’ it. Mineke Schipper examines why the first creation figure, Mother Earth, fell out of popular culture, and how women’s bodies have been represented around the world ever since, from the demon daughter of New Mexico with a toothed vagina to the Japanese supermarkets and European festivals where ‘breast puddings’ are still considered delicacies.
Drawing together the vast reservoir of writing and art that shape how women are seen in today’s world, Schipper reclaims the female body as a source of power.
About the Author
Mineke Schipper is a cultural historian and writer. She is the author of seven critically acclaimed works including Never Marry a Woman with Big Feet: Women in Proverbs from Around the World and Naked or Covered: A History of Dressing and Undressing Around the World. Her writing has been published in The Times, El Mundo and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Schipper was foreign secretary of Dutch PEN, chair of Index on Censorship Nederland and currently serves as Emeritus Professor of Intercultural Literary Studies at the University of Leiden, with visiting professorships in Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and China. She lives in the Netherlands.
Reviews
‘This is a vital cultural study. Forensically researched, the book the representations – and misrepresentations – of women’s bodies via global art works, texts, myths and proverbs. It opens the reader alongside its pages, offering an education, a reason, a deep knowing and a path out of here. World changing work.’ Joelle Taylor
‘Illuminating, informing and underpinned by extensive research, Schipper’s global approach is the means to a journey. The Shrinking Goddess will lead you to reconsider the female form in all its splendid glory. Ground-breaking.’ Jasmine Elmer
‘A cultural and anthropological study of misogyny via global artworks, texts, myths and proverbs. Only by seeing what has been done can we undo it.’ New Statesman
