Androgynous Objects

Download or read book Androgynous Objects written by Maureen Anne MacKenzie and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 1991 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the way meaning is encoded in material culture by focusing on the androgynous symbolism of the looped string bag, or bilum, of the Telefol people of Central New Guinea. The web of meanings 'woven' into the bag is shown to extend beyond women's lives and bodies. It is open to manipulation and reformation in a variety of contexts and is used by both Telefol women and men to explore, and so explain the complexities and ambiguities inherent in their social life.