Queering the Subversive Stitch: Men and the Culture of Needlework

Queering the Subversive Stitch: Men and the Culture of Needlework
ISBN-10
1472578066
ISBN-13
9781472578068
Category
Design
Pages
273
Language
English
Published
2021-04-08
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Author
Joseph McBrinn

Description

The history of men's needlework has long been considered a taboo subject. This is the first book ever published to document and critically interrogate a range of needlework made by men. It reveals that since medieval times men have threaded their own needles, stitched and knitted, woven lace, handmade clothes, as well as other kinds of textiles, and generally delighted in the pleasures and possibilities offered by all sorts of needlework. Only since the dawn of the modern age, in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, did needlework become closely aligned with new ideologies of the feminine. Since then men's needlework has been read not just as feminising but as queer. In this groundbreaking study Joseph McBrinn argues that needlework by male artists as well as anonymous tailors, sailors, soldiers, convalescents, paupers, prisoners, hobbyists and a multitude of other men and boys deserves to be looked at again. Drawing on a wealth of examples of men's needlework, as well as visual representations of the male needleworker, in museum collections, from artist's papers and archives, in forgotten magazines and specialist publications, popular novels and children's literature, and even in the history of photography, film and television, he surveys and analyses many of the instances in which “needlemen” have contested, resisted and subverted the constrictive ideals of modern masculinity. This audacious, original, carefully researched and often amusing study, demonstrates the significance of needlework by men in understanding their feelings, agency, identity and history.

Similar books

  • Designing Type: Second Edition
    By Karen Cheng

    Centaur • Monotype Bruce Rogers with punchcutter Robert Wiebking Bembo • Monotype Frank Hinman Pierpont, ... Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho Bodoni • Monotype Originating designer Giambattista Bodoni; adapted for Monotype by Sol Hess.

  • The Art of Looking Sideways
    By Alan Fletcher

    A primer in visual intelligence and an exploration of the workings of the eye, the hand, the brain and the imagination is comprised of an inexhaustible mine of anecdotes, quotations, images, trivia, oddities, serious science, jokes and ...

  • Hollywood Intuition: It's What Separates Fashion Victims from Fashion Victors!
    By Karen Salmansohn, Jaye Hersh

    This July will see the launch of "Hollywood Intuition"-Hersh'sexciting line of accessories for the fashionista on a budget.Accompanying the splash debut of this exclusive accessoriesline, Hollywood Intuition the book, offers in print for ...

  • Arne Jacobsen: Compact Design Portfolio
    By Christopher Mount, Arne Jacobsen, Marisa Bartolucci

    Arne Jacobsen's furniture, such as his classic Ant Chair and Egg Chair, have become world-famous exemplars of Danish modern design. This book includes some of his most significant work, with an overview from established design writers.

  • Digital Textile Printing
    By Susan Carden

    ... here–here, here Awaken project here Bankes, H. here Banks, J. here Barber, E. here Barrett, E. here batik here, here–here, here Beckow, S. here Beddard, H. here Bell, Thomas here, here Benjamin, W. here–here, here, here–here Biggs, ...

  • Functional Clothing Design: From Sportswear to Spacesuits
    By Susan M. Watkins, Lucy Dunne

    Daniels, G. 1952. “The 'Average Man'?” Contract AF1860030, Report #0302010. Wright-Patterson AFB: Air Force Aerospace Medical Research Lab. de Bono, E. 1985. Lateral Thinking. New York: Viking Penguin. ———. 1999. Six Thinking Hats.

  • Camp: Notes on Fashion
    By Andrew Bolton, Karen Van Godtsenhoven, Amanda Garfinkel

    II/7–II/8 Sontag, “Notes on 'Camp,'” p. 518, Note 8 pp. II/9–II/11 Sontag, “Notes on 'Camp,'” p. 528, Note 49 pp. II/12–II/13 Sontag, “Notes on 'Camp,'” p. 527, Note 45 pp. II/14–II/17 Mark Booth, Camp (London: Cameron Books, 1983), p.

  • Druids, Celts, and Romans: The Founders of Europe
    By James Francis Smith, Sean Judy

    Author James Francis Smith Smith's 350-page narrative-history illustrates the Celts deference of women as leaders and warriors to that exhibited by Rome.

  • Reader's Companion: A Book Lover's Guide to the Most Important Books in Every Field of Knowledge as Chosen by the...
    By Fred Bratman, Scott Lewis

    Politicians, historians, movie stars, religious figures, and authors offer suggestions for the finest books in a wide range of fields and reveal those titles that have most affected their lives,...

  • Design Your Life: The Pleasures and Perils of Everyday Things
    By Ellen Lupton, Julia Lupton

    Use this book to gain control over your environment and tap into the power of design to communicate with friends, family, and the world.