Download or read book The American Body in Context written by Jessica R. Johnston and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2001 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Marilyn Monroe to the Spice Girls, from Grover Cleveland to President Clinton, to one's naked form reflected in the mirror each morning, Americans are taught to read bodies as symbols displaying and revealing hidden truths about the individual and his or her behaviours. Any discussion of the body becomes complex and muddled as one tries to analyze how and why certain body types are attributed certain meanings.