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The ‘fair sex’ : skin colour, gender and narratives of embodied identity in eighteenth-century British non-fiction
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Woods, Kathryn (2017) The ‘fair sex’ : skin colour, gender and narratives of embodied identity in eighteenth-century British non-fiction. Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, 40 (1). pp. 49-66. doi:10.1111/1754-0208.12386 ISSN 1754-0194.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1754-0208.12386
Abstract
During the eighteenth century the phrase ‘fair sex’ was a pervasive feature of contemporary writing intended for female consumption and texts that discussed issues concerning women. Even today, scholars still employ this expression to characterise experiences of femininity during this period. This article extrapolates the embodied meanings of ‘fair sex’ from a range of popular non-fictional printed discourses, including medical advice books, conduct literature, advice guides and cosmetic manuals. Specifically, it examines how, why and in what ways ‘fairness’ was conceptualised as a mutually reinforcing moral, physiological, aesthetic and social ideal for elite British women during the eighteenth century.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman P Language and Literature > PR English literature |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > History | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Women -- In literature -- Great Britain -- 18th century | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies | ||||||||
Publisher: | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc | ||||||||
ISSN: | 1754-0194 | ||||||||
Official Date: | March 2017 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 40 | ||||||||
Number: | 1 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 49-66 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1111/1754-0208.12386 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 7 December 2016 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 6 January 2018 |
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