From Library Journal
In this well-written treatise, Emberley (women's and gender studies, Univ. of Northern British Columbia) views fur through widely disparate lenses. In the case of the animal rights movement, fur is seen as gratuitous violence and gross cruelty. To the Dene and Inuit people, it is a source of income and survival. Emberley guides us through these contrasting images with a low-key insistence that fur is exactly what our culture makes of it: status symbol, fashion find, or political point. Emberley is able to make us understand all the viewpoints she presents, but she never allows us to catch on to her perspective or her passion. Still, this is a valuable book on a little-explored subject, especially the discussion of "mother as hunter" in Native peoples' society. It is unfortunate that Emberley appears so detached from it all. Recommended for specialized collections in feminism and native studies.?Alicia Graybill, Lincoln City Libs., Neb.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Synopsis
Fur has sparked controversies since sumptuary laws marked it as a luxury item and as a sign of medieval class privilege. Drawing on a range of historical and contemporary sources, the author of this study shows how a material good has become both a symbol of wealth and sexuality, and a symptom of class, gender and imperial antagonisms. Emberley documents the 1980s confrontations between animal rights activists and native peoples which pitted "Lynx", the organization responsible for high-profile anti-fur advertisements in Great Britain, against Inuit and Dene societies' claims for a livelihood based on the selling and trading, consumption and production of animal fur. The fetishization of fur, the author shows, extends from early modern paintings and etchings to late-19th century literary and psychoanalytical narratives of sexual fantasy, such as von Sacher-Masoch's novel "Venus in Furs". Contemporary advertising and fashion photography, as well as films such as "Paris is Burning" reveal the ongoing fetishistic practices of the fashion world.
From colonial fur trading to 20th-century globalization of the fur industry, Emberley analyzes the cultural, political, material and libidinal values ascribed to fur.
