Modest Venus: experiments in seeing

Morgan, Susan 2019. Modest Venus: experiments in seeing. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

A series of linked essays forms the basis of this thesis, their common thread being the argument that factual knowledge relating to female sexual anatomy is affected by taboo and sexual politics. Passages of self-reflective travel and memoir writing are juxtaposed with material gleaned from quantitative and qualitative research conducted with anatomists, clinicians, writers, artists and scholars. In Western Art female beauty has been traditionally associated with modesty; while the female genitals have been associated with sinful transgression and shame. I will argue that there remains a legacy within anatomical science of historical representations of the body based on myths, misconceptions and notions of gender difference. The story of the clitoris, for example, cannot be understood without taking into account social and cultural factors that frame our perceptions of what it is to be female; factors that need to be critically examined at a time when values based on a respect for accuracy and transparency in relation to factual knowledge are increasingly under threat in the public realm, with noxious implications for health and well-being.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 January 2023
Last Modified:	30 Jan 2023 15:54
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/156374

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