Body Lore and Laws - by Andrew Bainham & Shelley Day Sclater & Martin Richards (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

This book, the second produced by the Cambridge Socio-Legal Group, is a collection of essays on the subject of law and the human body. As the title suggests, bodies and body parts are not only subject to regulation through formal legal processes, but also the meanings attached to particular bodies, and the significance accorded to some body parts, are aspects of
broader cultural processes. In short, bodies are subjected to both lore and laws. The contributors, all leading academics in the fields of Law, Sociology, Psychology, Feminism, Criminology, Biology and Genetics, respectively, offer a range of interdisciplinary papers that critically examine how bodies are constructed and regulated in law.

The book is divided into two parts. Part one is concerned with 'Making Bodies' and includes papers relating to transactions in human gametes, cloning, court-ordered caesarean sections, testing for genetic risk, the patenting of human genes and the social policy implications of the growth in genetic information. Part two is concerned with 'Using and Abusing Bodies'. It contains chapters relating to sexualities, sexual orientation and the law, sex workers and their clients, domestic homicide, religious and cultural practices and other issues involving children's bodies, the ownership of the body and body parts and the legal and ethical issues surrounding euthanasia.

Review Quotes

"A great strength of the work is the diversity of topics covered.
A reader approaching this book may want to focus on a particular topic or set of topics, but, if one takes the time to read all of the essays, s/he will, I believe, come away with a renewed appreciation of the diversity and complexity of issues at stake in this arena of legal discourse." --The Law and Politics Book Review

"...a fascinating variety of perspectives and issues are included.
The 18 chapters constitute a useful volume for academics and (undergraduate and postgraduate) students 'working on the body' in a range of disciplines." --Child and Family Law Quarterly

About the Author

Andrew Bainham is a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge and Reader in Family Law and Policy at the University of Cambridge.
Shelley Day Sclater is a Reader in Psycho-Social Studies at the University of East London and co-director of the Centre for Narrative Research.
Martin Richards is Emeritus Professor of Family Research at the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge.