Mutilating The Body: Identity In Blood And Ink [Paperback]

Kim Hewitt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0879727101 | ISBN-13: 978-0879727109 | Publication Date: January 1, 1997 | Edition: First Edition ~1st Printing

This scholarly discussion places acts of body mutilation within a conceptual framework that explores their similarities and dissimilarities, but ultimately interprets them as acts that ask to be witnessed. The author explores self-mutilation through history and across cultural divisions, finding these acts

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kim Hewitt is a writer who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in American Civilization at the University of Texas at Austin. Her interests include the history and influence of eastern philosophies in the United States, utopian communities, spirituality, and altered consciousness.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From Jacket: The language of the body cannot be denied. In today's culture, many people are claiming their bodies as their prime material to create and express their identity--scratching, starving, tattooing, and piercing their desire for autonomy and spirituality upon their bodies. They instinctively turn to the body as a potent medium of flesh and blood, pleasurable and painful sensations, and adornment that enables them to write their stories upon their bodies. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; First Edition ~1st Printing edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879727101
• ISBN-13: 978-0879727109
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, multi-cultural study on self-transformation., February 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mutilating the Body: Identity in Blood and Ink (Hardcover)

"The language of the body cannot be denied." This is the key passage in Hewitt's fascinating study on the personal and cultural significance of body modification. Permanent alteration of one's own form involves more strength, conviction, and visceral impact than any verbal statement, and so is infinitely more potent. Hewitt draws together a cornucopia of cultural and spiritual sources including performance art, ritual scarification, decorative and therapeutic tattooing and piercing, religous fasting, shape-shifting, punk fashion, and sadomasochism to trace the motives, meaning, and antecedents of personal change through self-mutilation.

Despite my only casual interest in the subject, I was impressed by Hewitt's discovery of a common foundation to some very diverse practices spanning many cultures and eras. To my knowledge, a project of such breadth and ambition on this topic is unprecedented. The other books I'd read about body modification confined themselves to tribal, biker, and punk subcultures, but Hewitt embraces all traditions, finding bridges between Maasai rites and psychoanalysis, animism and feminism, yoga and Fauvism, fashion trends and Walt Whitman, Christian iconography and Annie Sprinkle. At every level she finds a drive for self-expression, a need to heal oneself or one's society, and a yearning for transcendence.

To its credit, "Mutilating the Body" is not a smooth read, as every other sentence provokes more thought and raises more questions than whole chapters of other books. Despite its academic density, it left me wanting more--I see it as a brilliant framework, soon to be fleshed out into other books treating its insights with more focus. In the meantime, I recommend it unreservedly to anyone interested in body art, "deviant" psychology, pop culture, or anthropology.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comments by the Author, February 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mutilating the Body: Identity in Blood and Ink (Hardcover)

This book attempts to understand the cultural phenomenon of uses of the body which are painful. I seek to answer the question "why does an individual inflcit pain upon him/herself?" as well as "why are these actions becoming more and more popular?"I am hopeful that this book will add to the understanding of the psychology behind many body practices, as well as provide insight into modern society. Some of the practices discussed are playful and decorative, some are dangerous and have been considered deviant. All communicate messages about the cultural moment in which they are practiced. My book looks at a continuum of behaviors - ranging from "pathological" acts including eating disorders and actual self-mutilation, to acts which are culturally sanctioned, including tattooing and body piercing. These acts are often painful, ritualized, and usually leave permanent marks upon the body. Instead of concentrating on the final product of these acts of body modification, I chose to analyze the process, which is meaningful in many ways. The book is based on psychological theory, ritual theory - and talking with a lot of people who have used their bodies to express themselves. Many of the people I met live in Austin, Texas - a city with abundant examples of body modification - some of the most creative and cutting-edge modifications in the United States. I am appreciative to all the people who shared their thoughts with me. Entering the world of body modification has enriched my life and led me to new explorations about the meaning of self and the definitions of consciousness in American culture. Although it is tempting to see this book as a final statement on the use of the body in American culture, I see it as just a beginning.

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars offensive and uninformed, March 21, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mutilating the Body: Identity in Blood and Ink (Hardcover)

Hewitt seems knowledgable when speaking about self mutilation and eating disorders, however once she begins to speak about body adornment, she is obviously in over her head. Her use of terminology when talking especially about body piercing and tattoos is unclear and confusing, as if she isn't sure what the correct terms are. The title of this book is EXTREMELY offensive to myself and anyone else who has tattoos, piercings, brands or decorative scars despite her attempt to defend her choice of words in the introduction. It is also badly edited (which does not reflect on the author).I found several mistakes in subject-verb agreement and other things which should have been picked up by the editor. If there even was one.