Download or read book Reading the Social Body written by Catherine B. Burroughs and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The overarching argument of "Reading the Social Body "is that the body is cultural rather than " natural." Some of the essays treat the social construction of bodies that have actually existed in human history; others discuss the representation of bodies in artistic contexts; all recognize that everything visible to the human body--from posture and costume to the width of an eyebrow or a smile--is determined by and shaped in response to a particular culture.