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ERIC Number: EJ1444006
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0954-0253
EISSN: EISSN-1360-0516
Artistic Mutilation of Genitalia: An Interpretive Analysis of Representations of Genitalia in Indian School Science Textbooks
Panchami Jose; Sugra Chunawala; Deepa Chari
Gender and Education, v36 n7 p780-800 2024
Visual representations (and their censorship) are carriers of messages and are powerful tools to invoke discourses. Visuals are not just supplements to written text; rather, these can be read independently as the primary text and are crucial to scientific communication, particularly in life sciences. This paper aims to investigate various textbook depictions of genitalia and examine how ideologies are manifested through visuals in relation to the human body. Here we try to unpack the visual representations of genitalia in different discursive spaces within Indian science textbooks from 6th to 12th grade. We position our study within the hermeneutic methodological landscape and apply the socio-semiotic analytic framework developed by Serafini [Serafini, Frank. 2010. "Reading Multimodal Texts: Perceptual, Structural and Ideological Perspectives." "Children's Literature in Education" 41 (2): 85-104. https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1007/s10583-010-9100-5], consisting of three analytic perspectives: perceptual, structural, and ideological, to interpret the visual images of genitalia and the ideological matrix that produced these images. Our analysis of textbooks' portrayal reveals a tendency to censor or obscure genital depictions. The paper discusses the potential effects of these representations on students' health and relationships with their bodies and argues that they must engage in dialogue with discourses challenging normative understandings of the body and remain open to change.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A