Dalle sante ascetiche alle ragazze anoressiche. Il rifiuto del cibo nella storia

by Walter Vandereycken, Ron Van Deth

L'estremo digiuno religioso e l'astinenza delle sante, gli scioperi della fame, l'esibizione degli scheletri viventi, il destino dei melanconici, delle isteriche, dei posseduti e delle streghe: il libro di Vandereycken e van Deth si interroga sul rapporto esistente tra l'anoressia, malattia del nostro tempo, e altre manifestazioni che appartengono a contesti storici diversi, mostrando il significato attribuito in epoche differenti all'alimentazione, al suo rifiuto, al rapporto con la corporeità, con il trascendente, con la morte.

Genres: History, Psychology, Nonfiction, Food, Religion, Cultural

350 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 1996

Reviews

[Petra]

A well-researched book about the history of fasting and self-starvation which luckily doesn't fall into diagnosing the people from the past.

[Niamh Colbrook]

An informative and largely well-written book (aside from an extremely tangential section in the final chapter), with a lot of well-researched content. However, it lacks argumentative momentum throughout. This is made more frustrating by highly promising, but underdeveloped, suggestions, such as the importance of attending to contemporary practices of self-starvation amidst abundance, a peculiar setting reflecting the significance of political and economic questions in the theorisation of anorexia. Further development of this idea would have added a refreshing perspective on hackneyed argument concerning the damaging thin ideal and diet industry. Particularly intriguing was the question with which the book ended: to what extent are present-day psychologists and psychiatrists contributing to the problem through their theorisations? Since two highly qualified psychologists have authored this book, I would have hoped for at least a gesture towards an answer. Nevertheless, the very posing of the question rests on a pleasing degree of self-awareness on the part of the authors that the narratives of their field may, in fact, be as limiting as the stigma and ignorance they are trying to combat.

[charlie]

thought it may be interesting or that there’s some sort of education but this book was awful. the idea of it is good but it’s so bad written and there’s too much historical information that wasn’t even true. the main aspects of the topic are not in the book and the authors just copy pasted the opinions of past people

[Jodie Gale]

A rich history of disordered eating and spirituality

[Alice]

sehr interessant nicht nur über einzelschicksale zu lesen, sondern sich der historischen entwicklung von esstörungen anzuschauen. angenehmer schreibstil und trotzdem fachlich kompetent.

[Shirley]

I am currently rereading this book but I really think I read this back in grad school bc it seems very familiar...