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A review by book_hoarding_dragon
The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body by Desmond Morris
4.0
Earlier this year before I graduated from my community college, a classmate in my Comparative Animal Behavior class recommended Desmond Morris to me (specifically this book and also the Naked Man).
The book was interesting and Morris did explain the technical terms he used. One thing with biology in terms of evolution is the explanation of not only how something came about but also the why. Morris does delve into his opinion of the why of the human body, but sometimes he doesn't lay it out all at once or at all. Morris will give you bits and pieces and you have to put it together yourself.
Additionally, Morris also delves into the cultural significance of body parts of women. Some of the things he addressed, I didn't even know was done (for example drilling holes in ones own teeth to put jewels in).
One thing that kind of bugged me has to do with Morris' references. What started it was Morris discussing belly dancing, specifically that belly dancing originated in the harem, due to a fat overlord and a concubine who had to do all work. Over time belly dancing 'developed into a visual display to titillate and excite the master of the harem.' Morris adds that some sources claim that belly dancing represents birth. Morris doesn't claim the former as his own or another sources (nor does Morris cite his sources). In the reference section, he notes a book on belly dancing from 1985. I had done my own searching and this harem idea, seems to have been popular back in the 70's. I looked at the Morris references and noted that (I could be wrong here)34 out of his 202 his references were published after 1995. This could be due to his referencing history in the text, but since he didn't cite anything, I can't be totally sure (this is what going to college does to you, your English teacher starts shouting in your head "cite your sources!").
Other than that, I really did enjoy reading this book. I think anybody interested in Biology/Biological Anthropology or evolution would get a kick out of this book.
The book was interesting and Morris did explain the technical terms he used. One thing with biology in terms of evolution is the explanation of not only how something came about but also the why. Morris does delve into his opinion of the why of the human body, but sometimes he doesn't lay it out all at once or at all. Morris will give you bits and pieces and you have to put it together yourself.
Additionally, Morris also delves into the cultural significance of body parts of women. Some of the things he addressed, I didn't even know was done (for example drilling holes in ones own teeth to put jewels in).
One thing that kind of bugged me has to do with Morris' references. What started it was Morris discussing belly dancing, specifically that belly dancing originated in the harem, due to a fat overlord and a concubine who had to do all work. Over time belly dancing 'developed into a visual display to titillate and excite the master of the harem.' Morris adds that some sources claim that belly dancing represents birth. Morris doesn't claim the former as his own or another sources (nor does Morris cite his sources). In the reference section, he notes a book on belly dancing from 1985. I had done my own searching and this harem idea, seems to have been popular back in the 70's. I looked at the Morris references and noted that (I could be wrong here)34 out of his 202 his references were published after 1995. This could be due to his referencing history in the text, but since he didn't cite anything, I can't be totally sure (this is what going to college does to you, your English teacher starts shouting in your head "cite your sources!").
Other than that, I really did enjoy reading this book. I think anybody interested in Biology/Biological Anthropology or evolution would get a kick out of this book.