Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
For centuries, wild and strange stories have been told about the female body. Some empowering, many absurd, these myths have not only endured but continue to shape perceptions of women today.
The Shrinking Goddess explores this legacy, gathering global tales about the female form and revealing how and why generations of men have sought to interpret, control and ‘tame’ women. Mineke Schipper investigates the disappearance of the original creation figure, Mother Earth, from mainstream culture, and how women’s bodies have been imagined ever since: from the demon daughter of New Mexico with a toothed vagina, to the Japanese supermarkets and European festivals offering ‘breast puddings’ as delicacies.
Drawing on an extraordinary archive of art, literature and folklore, Schipper reclaims the female body as a place of power, creativity and possibility.
‘Mineke Schipper provides a fascinating and wide-ranging compendium of fact and fiction through the ages.’ J. M. Coetzee
'Fascinatingly researched, clearly written and wonderfully illustrated, The Shrinking Goddess takes back the story of the female body and sexuality from patriarchal mythmakers, fearmongerers, and misogynists, both ancient and modern. Doing so, Mineke Schipper opens the way for a dialogue among people of all genders and sexualities seeking to topple the usual hierarchies and find another way, another world.' Jane Caputi
'A cultural and anthropological study of misogyny via global artworks, texts, myths and proverbs. Only by seeing what has been done can we undo it.’ New Statesman
‘This is a vital cultural study. Forensically researched, The Shrinking Goddess explores the representations – and misrepresentations – of women’s bodies via global art works, texts, myths and proverbs. It opens the reader alongside its pages, offering an education, a reason, a deep knowing and a path out of here. World changing work.’ Joelle Taylor
‘I was very taken with The Shrinking Goddess. I loved the many detailed gems, from origin myths explaining why women dispensed with moustaches and beards which made me chuckle – to taboo stories around menstruation. The author’s ease of style and the thought-provoking questions she plants along the way make for an enlightening reading experience. This one’s definitely a keeper.' Shahrukh Husain
‘Schipper’s prose is light, fast-paced and witty, and her analysis is completely gripping.’ Sunday Telegraph
'Groundbreaking.' Jasmine Elmer
‘Scholarly but compulsively readable, packed with jaw-dropping detail. I found myself telling stories from Schipper’s strange treasury for weeks after I read it.’ The Observer