{"product_id":"aesthetic-sexuality-paperback","title":"Aesthetic Sexuality - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRomana Byrne\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo understand why the concept of aesthetic sexuality is important, we must consider the influence of the first volume of Foucault's seminal \u003ci\u003eThe History of Sexuality\u003c\/i\u003e. Arguing against Foucault's assertions that only scientia sexualis has operated in modern Western culture while ars erotica belongs to Eastern and ancient societies, Byrne suggests that modern Western culture has indeed witnessed a form of ars erotica, encompassed in what she calls 'aesthetic sexuality'. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTo argue for the existence of aesthetic sexuality, Byrne examines mainly works of literature to show how, within these texts, sexual practice and pleasure are constructed as having aesthetic value, a quality that marks these experiences as forms of art. In aesthetic sexuality, value and meaning are located within sexual practice and pleasure rather than in their underlying cause; sexuality's raison d'être is tied to its aesthetic value, at surface level rather than beneath it. Aesthetic sexuality, Byrne shows, is a product of choice, a deliberate strategy of self-creation as well as a mode of social communication.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRomana Byrne\u003c\/b\u003e is an independent scholar based in France. Formerly, she was a Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne, Australia, where she lectured in the history of queer theory, pornography and aesthetics, and sadomasochism in cinema. She has published in \u003ci\u003eCriticism: A Quarterly for Literature and the Arts\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePapers on Language \u0026amp; Literature\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 200\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.43 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 21, 2015\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42716597387327,"sku":"9781501308697","price":112.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/e08e7329ce4ad260ee0252c198bacfdc.webp?v=1765075497","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/aesthetic-sexuality-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}