Mcclintock, Anne

Imperial Leather: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest [Feminist Theory, Cultural Studies]

New York: Routledge, 1995.

No Flaws or Blemishes but minimal shelf handling; Still Gift Quality. 9.25 inches tall; 450 pages with Chapter Notes and Index.

A critical examination of the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality within the context of British imperialism. McClintock argues that these categories were not merely social constructs but were actively mobilized to sustain and legitimize colonial domination.

The book introduces the concept of the "empire of domesticity," illustrating how Victorian ideals of domesticity—emphasizing purity, order, and familial duty—were transposed onto colonial endeavors. By framing colonial conquests as benevolent missions to civilize "savage" lands and peoples, the British Empire presented its expansionist activities as moral imperatives.

McClintock explores how this domestic ideal was not only a tool for justifying imperialism but also a means of constructing racial and gendered identities that reinforced hierarchical power structures.

Imperial Leather is a critical contribution to postcolonial studies, offering a nuanced understanding of how colonialism was not only a political and economic system but also a deeply ingrained cultural and psychological project. [Adapted from Reviews]

Subjects: Colonialism, Race, Gender, Sexuality, Imperialism, Victorian Society, Nationalism, Resistance Movements; Postcolonial Theory, Feminist Theory, Cultural Studies, History, Sociology

Item #20345
ISBN: 0415908906

Price: $34.00