McCormack, M. (2015) Tall histories: height and Georgian masculinities. Invited Presentation presented to: Masculinity and the Body in Britain, 1500-1900, The University of Northampton, 18 June 2015. (Unpublished)
- Information
Information
Abstract:
Human height is rarely considered by historians. In contrast to weight, which is widely regarded by cultural commentators as being loaded with political significance, height is generally regarded as a 'natural' condition rather than a 'cultural' one, a matter for demographers rather than gender historians. Where its meanings are considered at all, they are held to be universal and unchanging: tallness is associated with power, strength and authority. These issues should be of much greater interest to historians of gender and the body, so this paper seeks to historicise tall stature by thinking about it in terms of eighteenth-century masculinities. On the one hand, a tall body could be associated with athleticism or elevated social class, in terms of refined deportment and superior nutrition. On the other hand, male height also carried negative connotations of awkwardness, ambition, militarism and even castration. This paper therefore thinks about representations of the body alongside its lived experience and its biological realities.
Subjects:
Creators:
McCormack, M.
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:
Date:
18 June 2015
Date Type:
Presentation
Event Title:
Masculinity and the Body in Britain, 1500-1900
Event Dates:
18 June 2015
Event Location:
The University of Northampton
Event Type:
Workshop
Language:
English
Status:
Unpublished
 |