Sexuality and the Body in Russian Culture

The twelve essays in this volume break new ground in showing the ways in which ideas about sexuality, gender, and the body have shaped and been shaped by Russian literature, history, art, and philosophy from the medieval period to the present day. The essays draw on a wide range of approaches - from post-modern and Foucault-influenced theories to more traditional historical and philological readings - but all are informed by feminist theory and practice in studying how gender has shaped the representations of bodies and sexual pleasures in Russia. Subjects discussed include the 1gure of the prostitute in early Soviet writing, travel narratives about eighteenth-century Russian manners, and the contemporary writer Tatiana Tolstaya’s use of gender stereotypes. Familiar writers, such as Tolstoy, Chekhov, Tsvetaeva, Berdyaev, and Platonov, appear in a new light when seen through the prism of gender and sexuality.