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The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine Paperback – June 21, 2019

by Rozsika Parker (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 220 ratings
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Rozsika Parker's re-evaluation of the reciprocal relationship between women and embroidery has brought stitchery out from the private world of female domesticity into the fine arts, created a major breakthrough in art history and criticism, and fostered the emergence of today's dynamic and expanding crafts movements.

The Subversive Stitch is now available again with a new Introduction that brings the book up to date with exploration of the stitched art of Louise Bourgeois and Tracey Emin, as well as the work of new young female and male embroiderers. Rozsika Parker uses household accounts, women's magazines, letters, novels and the works of art themselves to trace through history how the separation of the craft of embroidery from the fine arts came to be a major force in the marginalisation of women's work. Beautifully illustrated, her book also discusses the contradictory nature of women's experience of embroidery: how it has inculcated female subservience while providing an immensely pleasurable source of creativity, forging links between women.

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  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bloomsbury Visual Arts
  4. Publication date
    June 21, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    6.28 x 0.69 x 9.18 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1350132292
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1350132290
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rozsika Parker has published widely in Art History and Psychoanalysis. Her books include Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology and Framing Feminism: Art and the Women's Movement 1970-1985 (both written with Griselda Pollock) and Torn in Two: The Experience of Maternal Ambivalence. Her latest book is The Anxious Gardener. She now practices as a psychotherapist in London.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Visual Arts; Reprint edition (June 21, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1350132292
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1350132290
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.28 x 0.69 x 9.18 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 220 ratings

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Rozsika Parker

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
220 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating history of how the meaning of embroidery has changed across centuries
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is one of my favorite books! I lost my first copy in a messy breakup situation, so I had to buy a second as part of my moving on process.
It's a history of femininity, and how our ideas of what is feminine have been shaped by class over the centuries. A detailed explanation of the different meanings attached to embroidery across times and places, intersecting with gender, changes in labor policies and practices, artisan work versus hobby craft, trends among the elite and the growing middle classes. It's a lot of history, but I didn't find it boring or tedious. If you have interest in any of these topics, you should buy this book!
14 people found this helpful
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Abigail Houseman
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2020
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I’ve read it 3 times!
10 people found this helpful
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J. Philip
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2018
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INFORMATIVE. IMPRESSIVE RESEARCH. TOOK NEEDLEWORK TO A NEW LEVE. CONGRATS
6 people found this helpful
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Shirley Goodwin
5.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile history of stitch
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2013
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I bought this for my final year major art project, and ended up using as a refernce for art history as well. Excellent.
17 people found this helpful
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M. Basart
5.0 out of 5 stars Subversive Stitch
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2013
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Good book for students of stitching, embroidery and the role of women's work in the early days of stitch and embroidery
9 people found this helpful
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awegs
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
excellent book, historical uses of stitching to enforce "femininity"
14 people found this helpful
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harakne rastau
5.0 out of 5 stars Review from an Art Embroiderer
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2012
This book is important and fascinating. It is an important piece of art history, as well as the history of embroidery. It never seemed to me to be dismissive of the medium and said instead that what women did in the past was eventually denigrated by others, e.g., the guilds, church officials (not the author). This book is a part of the reinstatement of women's place in art history, as well as fiber/needle arts.

I say it is fascinating because I am very interested in how people lived and created art, throughout time. And it is of interest because it tells what happened to a beautiful art form and how it became devalued by a mostly male-controlled art world, except in certain settings.

There are other books to read about the subject, that will round out the appreciation of needle arts, including "Embroidered Textiles" by Sheila Paine. I have read dozens of books on this subject, including books on the tools of the trade, ancient and new.

I embroider and I vote, so I vote this book "excellent".
36 people found this helpful
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A reviewer
1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible Book
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2011
Verified Purchase
As an AVID embroiderer and feminist, I had see this book often over the years but had never gotten around to reading it. Ugh. Terrible! I want my money back.

The nicest thing to say is that it is very dated, and for the time, it was probably important. I just found it to be a very bad, boring, repetitive study that really doesn't say much. She really just says the same thing over and over and over: Embroidery has "signified" femininity through the ages. That's about it, folks. Well, we learn that sometimes this has been an empowering thing, but mostly it has been a way of keeping women in their place and submissive, etc. Occasionally women have rebelled against it. That's really it. That is it. I don't think I read more than three chapters though I scanned the rest.

What I found so offensive is that Parker is clearly not an embroiderer herself, doesn't know anything about the medium, and really couldn't care less about it. I was amazed at how totally insensitive and dismissive of it she is. It is the subject of her book after all. But her attitude is pretty much of a distanced, "scientific" observor reporting on something she had absolutely zero knowledge or understanding of herself.

If you are an embroiderer, do not look to this book to tell you anything. I learned zilch except maybe a historical fact or two. A really good book about women and embroidery has yet to be written.
73 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Karen L
4.0 out of 5 stars Buen contenido
Reviewed in Mexico on June 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
Buena información, pero todas las imágenes de los bordados vienen en blanco y negro.
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Angelfire
4.0 out of 5 stars Some interesting history, but rarely 'subversive'
Reviewed in Canada on January 13, 2022
Verified Purchase
The book is interesting, but this is far from comprehensive, often very lightweight in explanation and not very well-organized or written. There are too many repeats of the same information in different parts of the book, word for word, which is not long to begin with. Very limited in scope - mostly about British embroiderers. The 'subversive' aspect is not well developed or defined - and poorly explained even when stated. Equating embroidery with feminism is tenuous at best, for lack of proof. The best parts of the book are the explanations of various types of embroidery and how they evolved.
One person found this helpful
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Camila Gabriela Ferreira
2.0 out of 5 stars Impresión y encuadernación defectuosa
Reviewed in Spain on September 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
Ha venido la primera página defectuosa, y las siguientes con esa línea defectuosa arriba y el texto torcido. Era un regalo y no me gusta entregarlo así.
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Camila Gabriela Ferreira
2.0 out of 5 stars Impresión y encuadernación defectuosa
Reviewed in Spain on September 23, 2023
Ha venido la primera página defectuosa, y las siguientes con esa línea defectuosa arriba y el texto torcido. Era un regalo y no me gusta entregarlo así.
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JennieBoylan
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly informative.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
There are 2 versions of this book, I'd originally read the older one written in the 1980s but this is the revised (1996) version with updated comments by the author. It's still bloody brilliant and a fascinating read.
One person found this helpful
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ADL
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in India on May 23, 2019
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Love!
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