Out in Public

Focusing on women's bodies as a means of public self-construction, Alison Piepmeier challenges traditional representations of 19th-century womanhood, such as the corseted white middle-class female and the black slave stereotypes. She moves beyond conventional binaries like public/private and victim/agent, presenting women's public embodiment as complex and dynamic. Through this lens, the book explores how women navigate and contest societal expectations, highlighting their strategic and playful engagement with their identities in public spaces.