The Body's Edge: Our Cultural Obsession With Skin

by Marc Lappé

Our skin covers us in a mantle no thicker than this line of type, separating us from the outside by the thinnest of margins. It is the real and symbolic boundary between ourselves and the external world. It is there, at the body's edge, that some of the most interesting stories about human biology, mythology, medicine, and health are told, and Marc Lappe, author of several highly acclaimed science books, is the right person to tell them.
He discusses how the "newly discovered" permeability of the skin, long recognized by other cultures, has lead to the use of drug-bearing patches; how potentially harmful chemicals penetrate the skin; how vulnerable we are to particular environmental insults; and much more. For the first time, he tells the inside story of silicone injections, an ill-fated experiment of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Body's Edge is a provocative examination of how we can reinforce what the skin provides and maintain our edge against an increasingly hostile world.

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Dennis Littrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The obsession actually goes beyond culture

The skin is the largest organ in our bodies, and it is one of the things that defines us in the eyes of others. It is not nearly enough to say that someone is black, or brown or white since there are many shades of black, brown and white, and as far as skin goes not one of them is really black, brown or white. Also there is a difference in the smoothness and texture of skin that is seldom addressed, but very keenly felt. I am amazed that I can tell the relative age of someone even in a still photo by the feel of their skin that my eyes can discern. Is there anything so appealing as the graphite smooth skin of youth? And how we notice it! And how we long to reclaim it! Which, in a sense, is what Lappé means by "Our Cultural Obsession with Skin." We are attracted to and repulsed by the skin of others. Big pores may offend us. An oily sheen may put us off. Freckles we may like or not. Skin advertises our age and the state of our health. Try as we might we cannot hide because our skin is there for all to see.. And the skin doesn't lie, although how hard we try to get it to!

This is an informative and interesting but hardly inclusive little book, especially strong on how we try to improve the appearance of our skin. One of Lappé's major points is that there isn't all that much we can do. Most of what the pharmaceutical industry sells us doesn't work. He offers insights into how the skin functions, to what extent it is a barrier and a sieve. He includes material on "the silicone story," and skin diseases, but is a little heavy on his role and interest in testifying against some chemical companies--but certainly I think we can approve of that.

Although I enjoyed reading this, I would like to see a book on skin that goes more deeply into the cross-cultural and political aspects of skin, how the color and texture, how the oiliness and the blemishes of the skin affect different people. Also a more detailed history about attitudes toward skin differences would be very interesting, including practices such as scaring, tattooing and how the grooming instinct is played out on the skin.
In short this is readable and interesting, but only touches the surface. (I know that's a stupid pun, sorry.)

--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”

[Chris Miles]

This book introduced me to the word "filaggrin", which is a protein that is assembled into keratin. Also, we slough off two to three billion dead skin cells and other debris each day.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was scary how much I didn't know about my own skin.