Bodies, gender, place and culture: 21 years on

Abstract

This article examines research on embodiment published in Gender, Place and Culture (GPC) over the past two decades. We searched using the keywords ‘body’, ‘bodies’, ‘embodiment’, ‘embody’, ‘flesh’, ‘fleshy’, ‘corporeality’ and ‘corporeal’, the titles and abstracts of all the articles that have appeared in GPC since it first began publication in 1994. Articles containing these keywords were listed in a searchable bibliography. What we found was a growing volume of research inspired by ‘body politics’ produced over a 21-year period that compares favourably to cognate geography journals. We also found that various themes have emerged including maternal and geopolitical bodies. In other areas, we identified gaps. Throughout the article, we engage with the question: has the upsurge of interest in embodiment, as expressed in the pages of GPC since 1994, led to an upheaval of masculinist ways of thinking in the discipline? We conclude by expressing our feelings of ambivalence.

Cuerpos, género, lugar y cultura: 21 años después

Este artículo analiza la investigación sobre la encarnación/corporización publicada en Gender, Place and Culture (GPC) a lo largo de las últimas dos décadas. Realizamos búsquedas utilizando los términos “cuerpo”, “cuerpos”, “encarnación”, “encarnar”, “carne”, “carnoso”, “corporalidad” y “corpóreo”, los títulos y los resúmenes de todos los artículos que han aparecido en GPC desde su primera publicación en 1994. Con los artículos que contenían estas palabras claves armamos una bibliografía en la que se pudieran realizar búsquedas. Lo que encontramos fue un volumen creciente de investigación inspirada en “la política del cuerpo” producido a lo largo de 21 años, que compara favorablemente con las revistas de geografía análogas. También encontramos que emergieron varios temas, incluyendo los cuerpos maternales y geopolíticos. En otras áreas, identificamos huecos por llenar. A lo largo del artículo abordamos la pregunta: ¿el aumento de interés en la encarnación, como se la expresa en GPC desde 1994, condujo a una conmoción en las formas masculinistas de pensar en la disciplina? Concluimos expresando nuestros sentimientos de ambivalencia.

身体、性别、地方与文化：历经二十(一载

本文检视“性别、地方与文化（GPC）”期刊过去二十年来所发表的有关体现（embodiment）的研究。我们运用“身体（body与bodies）”、“体现（embodiment与embody）”、“肉体（flesh与fleshy）”，以及“肉身性（corporeality与corporeal）为关键词，搜寻GPC期刊自1994年发行以来的所有文章标题与大纲。含有这些关键词的文章，被列入一个可供搜寻的书目中。我们发现，与同类的地理期刊相较之下， 本刊受到“身体政治”所啓发的研究数量，在过去二十一年来日益增长。我们亦发现各种议题的浮现，包括怀孕的身体与地缘政治的身体。在其他的领域中，我们则指认出落差。我们在通篇文章中涉入以下问题： 对于体现（embodiment）的高度兴趣，如同GPC期刊自1994年开始所展现的一般，是否已对该领域中的男性气概思考方式造成剧变？文末，我们将以表达矛盾的看法作结。

Keywords::

• embodiment
• gender
• masculinism
• ambivalence
• materiality

Palabras claves::

• encarnación
• género
• masculinismo
• ambivalencia
• materialidad

关键词::

• 体现
• 性别
• 男性气概
• 矛盾
• 物质性

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Gail Hutcheson for helping us put together a list of feminist geography publications on ‘the body’. This turned out to be a big job and we are grateful for the assistance. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers and Peter Hopkins for useful comments on an earlier draft of this article. Finally, we would like to acknowledge all the committed feminist scholars who produced the work we have reviewed. It has been a privilege engaging with this scholarship.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robyn Longhurst

Robyn Longhurst is Pro Vice-Chancellor Education and Professor of Geography at University of Waikato. Her teaching and research focus on issues of space, place, gender and the body, especially embodied knowledges, maternal bodies, body size and shape and more recently bodies in relation to information communication technologies such as Skype. She has been an Editorial Board Member, Editor and Editor-in Chief of Gender, Place and Culture.

Lynda Johnston

Lynda Johnston is Professor of Geography at University of Waikato and a current Editor of Gender, Place and Culture. Her research and teaching focus on queer bodies, places, spaces and tourism and she publishes on topics such as love, wedding tourism, haptic geographies of drag queens, gay pride, embodied methodologies and knowledges.