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Over the past decade geographers have shown a growing interest in 'the body' as an important co-ordinate of subjectivity and as a way of understanding further relationships between people, place and space. To date, however geographers have published little on what is one of, if not the, most important of all bodies - bodies that conceive, give birth and nurture other bodies. It is time that feminist, social, and cultural geographers contributed more to debates about maternal bodies. This book offers a series of windows on the ways in which maternal bodies influence, and are

"Geography has recently seen something of a 'body craze'. The politics that surround bodies and spaces are increasingly being held up to scrutiny. Despite this, the 'leaky', 'messy' zones between the inside and outside of bodies and their resulting spatial relationships, remain largely unexamined in the discipline." "This book revolves around three case studies - pregnant bodies in public places, men's bodies in domestic toilets and bathrooms, managers' bodies in Central Business Districts. The pregnant body threatens to expel matter from inside. It is often described as 'ugly' or as 'matter out of place'. Geographers have ignored men's bodies in domestic toilets and bathrooms because these places are abject sights/sites where bodily boundaries are broken and then made solid again. Female and male managers in Central Business Districts wear tailored, dark coloured business suits, that give the appearance of a body which is impervious to leakage or penetration." "The case studies illustrate that bodies and spaces are socially constructed and yet have an undeniable materiality and fluidity. Ignoring the everyday materiality of bodies that 'leak' and 'seep' is not a harmless omission, rather it contains a political imperative that helps keep masculinism intact

Birth, in many societies, is considered to be a private affair. Although health and medical professionals usually assist, the only other people who share the birth process with mothers are their nearest and dearest. With the rise of information communication technologies, however, birth is no longer an exclusively private event. Some women are now sharing their birthing experiences with millions of viewers who are part of the online video 'community' YouTube Broadcast Yourself. Searching the word 'birth' on YouTube results in close to one million 'hits'. This article is based on a small-scale, qualitative research project, which involved viewing and making notes on several hundred online videos of birth on YouTube and the accompanying posts and commentaries about the videos. These data were analysed through a feminist, poststructuralist and geographical lens. Throughout the article the term 'cyber/space' is used to highlight the mutually constituted nature of 'real' and virtual spaces. The article concludes that although YouTube has the potential to open up new windows on birth, this potential is not yet being realized. YouTube does not overcome or render insignificant material expressions of power, instead it typically privileges US experiences of birth, reiterates discourses of 'good' mothering and censors particular (mainly vaginal) representations of birth.

In the first half of this paper it is argued that cultural geography is a dynamic and diverse field that extends well beyond a single branch of human geography. The boundaries between it and other sub-disciplines are often blurred. People have «different» encounters with cultural geography depending on their sub-disciplinary convergences. People also have different encounters with cultural geography depending on where they live and work. «Place matters» in the construction, production and representation of cultural geography. It takes different forms in different places. In the second half of the paper it is argued that as cultural geography continues to encounter «difference» in many guises, four possible future trends are likely: first, it is probable that there will be continued growth in cultural geography; second, there may be mounting recognition that cultural geography needs to be critical offering possibilities for radical critique and reflection; third, cultural geographers are likely to continue with their efforts to think about what, if anything, might lie beyond representation; and finally, cultural geographers are likely to deepen their reflections on the politics of knowledge production leading to more multi-language publishing practices in this area. ; A la primera part d'aquest article, s'hi defensa que la geografia cultural és un camp prou dinàmic i divers com per ser considerat una simple branca de la geografia humana. Els límits entre aquesta subdisciplina i d'altres són sovint difícils de discernir. Hi ha tantes visions de la geografia cultural com subdisciplines a partir de les quals s'hi convergeix. També hi ha tantes aproximacions possibles a la geografia cultural com llocs on es viu o es treballa. En la construcció, producció i representació de la geografia cultural, el lloc hi és important, ja que la geografia cultural adquireix formes diferents en llocs diferents. En la segona meitat de l'article, s'hi argumenta que, mentre la geografia cultural continua presentant moltes diferències en facetes distintes, s'hi aventuren quatre possibles tendències futures. En primer lloc, és probable que continuï l'expansió de la geografia cultural; en segon lloc, existeix un reconeixement creixent que la geografia cultural necessita ser crítica i oferir, així, possibilitats per a la crítica i la reflexió radicals; en tercer lloc, és probable que els geògrafs culturals continuïn esforçant-se a esbrinar què hi ha més enllà de la representació si és que hi ha res. Finalment, és probable que els geògrafs culturals aprofundeixin les seves reflexions sobre la política de producció de coneixement que porti a una diversitat lingüística més gran en les publicacions d'aquesta àrea. ; En la primera parte de este artículo, se defiende que la geografía cultural es lo suficientemente dinámica y diversa como para no ser considerada una simple rama de la geografía humana. Los límites entre ésta y otras subdisciplinas son a menudo difíciles de discernir. Existen tantas visiones de la geografía cultural como subdisciplinas a partir de las cuales nos aproximamos a ella. También existen tantas visiones de la geografía cultural como lugares de residencia o de trabajo. En la construcción, la producción y la representación de la geografía cultural, el lugar es importante, ya que la geografía cultural toma formas distintas en lugares diferentes. En la segunda parte del artículo, se argumenta que, mientras la geografía cultural continúa presentando muchas diferencias en distintas facetas, se entrevén cuatro posibles tendencias futuras. En primer lugar, es probable que continúe la expansión de la geografía cultural; en segundo lugar, existe un reconocimiento creciente del hecho que la geografía cultural necesita ser crítica y ofrecer así posibilidades para la crítica y la reflexión radical; en tercer lugar, es probable que los geógrafos culturales continúen esforzándose en averiguar qué hay más allá de la representación, si es que hay alguna cosa, y, finalmente, es probable que los geógrafos culturales amplíen sus reflexiones sobre la política de producción de conocimientos, lo cual puede comportar una mayor diversidad lingüística en las publicaciones de esta área. ; Dans la première moitié de cet article on constate que la géographie culturelle est un terrain d'étude si dynamique et divers et qu'elle ne peut pas être comprise simplement comme une branche de la géographie humaine. Les limites entre la géogrpahie culturelle et d'autres subdisciplines sont souvent difficiles d'écarter. Il y a autant de visions de la géographie culturelle comme subdisciplines prochaines. Aussi, existent autant de visions de la géographie culturelle comme des espaces de résidence ou travail. Dans le processus de construction, production et représentation de géographie culturelle, le lieu est important parce que la géographie culturelle prend des formes différentes dans les lieux différents. Dans la deuxième moitié de l'article on dit que comme la géographie culturelle continue à rencontrer beaucoup de différences en relation à des aspects différents, quatre tendances futures possibles sont possibles. D'abord, c'est probable qu'elle continue en avant; en deuxième partie, il y a une reconnaissance que la géographie culturelle a besoin d'être critique et offrir des possibilités à la critique et la réflexion radical; en troisième partie, des géographes culturels continuent avec leurs efforts de penser à propos de qu'est-ce qu'il y a au-delà de la représentation (s'il y a quelque chose); et, finalement, les géographes culturels ont des chances d'approfondir leurs réflexions sur la politique de la production de connaissance conduisant à plus de pratiques de publication multi langue dans cette branche géographique.

This analysis of representations of pregnancy & interview data from 31 pregnant women in New Zealand shows that the pregnant body provokes not only desire, but dread. As their pregnancies advanced, the pregnant women withdrew more from public space & activities, as if their bodies posed a threat to rational public order. These attitudes are connected to Elizabeth Grosz's (1994) thesis on women's bodies as "modes of seepage" & concepts of abjection, fluidity, & indetermination. Pregnant bodies with waters breaking, vomiting, fluid breasts, & showing their borders lead to the construction of "leaking bodies." Pregnant women can emancipate themselves from the attitude that their bodies are dreadful by stabilizing dualisms like solid/fluid, organized/disorganized, & material/discursive. 29 References. M. Pflum