Bodies Under Siege: Self-Mutilation and Body Modification in Culture and Psychiatry

by Armando R. Favazza and Dr. Armando R. Favazza MD

Book Overview

A quarter century after it was first published, Bodies under Siege remains the classic, authoritative book on self-mutilation. Now in its third edition, this invaluable work is updated throughout with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801853001
• ISBN13: 9780801853005
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 373 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Very comprehensive book (essential for those who self-injure)

I've been cutting myself for many years, and have read books on the subject for a number of those years. This is by far one of the best I've read for Favazza does an extremely deep study into the history of self-injury, both cultural forms and what he terms "deviant" forms. While not as entertaining as "A Bright Red Scream," and definately more scholarly than most books on the subject, I still consider it essential for those who cut or the loved ones of those who cut. However, it isn't so much a personal or supportive book, and will mostly trigger more cutters than it will help. The only reason I give it four stars instead of five though is because of some of the misconceptions that even the author shows, such as relating self-injury to body piercing and such (which he has already gotten some heat about already.) I also don't like the terms "mentally ill," "wrist slashers," " slicers," etc. as words for those who cut. I also found the first few pages of chapter 11 very hard to read for similar reasons.

A first of its kind

Many people look at this book to be designed solely for sufferers...it isn't. As it states, it discusses Self-Mutilation and Body Modification in Culture and Psychiatry. It uses case studies to illustrate this point.Now, it can be a very graphic book, and is not for the weak-stomached. I would say that unless you're interested in some of the stuff in it, skip the sections that don't apply to you.It's an extremely informative book. It is not meant to be a personal book, like A Bright Red Scream, Cutting, or Skin Game. It's more to explain why self-mutilators do what they do.If you want explanations, read this book.

Favazza is cheaper than therapy...

While this book may not work quite as well as therapy, it is helpful as a resource for sufferers and their friends and family. A very good friend of mine is a self mutilator, and we scour the markets looking for good books on the subject. Favazza's book tend to be more for professionals in the fields of medicine, but a little knowledge can go a long way. The extensive research is a bit wordy, but fascinating. Skimming can pick out the best parts. It gives a good basis for comparison, while not locking a sufferer into a concrete explanation that could alienate someone looking for help. The body modification chapter was added for later editions, and is not quite as together as the rest of the book, but still interesting. Bodies Under Siege is more useful than many of its contemporaries that package self mutilation as a phase for young people. It provides an enormous range of research and information and reasons that make it so different from Cutting, which alienates readers from outside it's circle. The mass of cases help a sufferer identify and ease their alienation from others. Overall, one of the best books on cutting I've read.

Excellent information on an often misunderstood topic

Bodies Under Siege is the first book on self-injury that I've read, and I have to say that I am most impressed. After hearing so much about books that are critical or accusatory or simply wrong, I believe that Bodies Under Siege somehow manages to find a happy accommodation between technical explanation and useful information. It falls somewhere between an anthropology textbook and a self help/diagnostic manual, and the author takes a different and refreshing approach to this controversial subject by not focusing solely on self-injury as a symptom of a psychological disorder. Instead Favazza describes self-injurious practices from cultures all over the world, past and present, including ours. By considering the natives of New Guinea who cut off a finger as a way of mourning the death of a loved one, and modern teens with tattoos and multiple piercings, and a psychotic individual who blinded himself, Favazza clarifies the line between culturally sanctioned self-injury and its pathological counterpart. In the first two sections of the book, the author focuses on defining culturally sanctioned self-injury, and uses various exemplary cultural and clinical case studies to illustrate his points. Both of these sections are interesting and informative, especially if you like learning about lots of very different cultures. These chapters are careful to incorporate facts about pathological self injury, which become relevant information even though not directly related to the kind of self-injury that most people are likely to see. The last section deals with pathological self-injury, self-injury that is a symptom of other disorders. Favazza here introduces his theory that symptomatic self-injury can progress and eventually become a disorder in and of itself, a theory that has many valid aspects but is still not accepted by most of the psychological community. While the first parts of the book were interesting from an academic point of view, it was the last section that I as a self-injurer found most helpful. Favazza defines and discusses the surprisingly large number of different kinds of self-injury, the circumstances under which each is most likely to occur, and the various techniques that he uses to help people overcome this little-known problem. The entire book is very graphic and detailed, and therefore has the potential to be very triggering. Even so I enjoyed this book thoroughly and I look forward to reading more by this cultural psychiatrist.

Valuable information for understanding self-injury

This is the second edition of Bodies under Siege, and in it Favazza improves an excellent survey of self-mutilation by adding extensive material on classification and treatment of self-injurious behavior. The original edition was probably the first important book on this topic. Part one is a fascinating sociological overview of mutilative behavior in society and religion, placing it in context. Favazza explores the links between cannibalism, self-injury, and eating disorders in this section. You can understand SI without knowing this information, but the context is useful. In part two, he looks at specific clinical cases of self-mutilation. Having read this section, I was able to much more easily understand the distinctions between types of self-injury that Favazza draws in part three. The epilogue, combined with the information in part three, helped me to understand where the line between self-injury and ornamental body modification lies. Those who self-injure will probably be most interested in part three, where Favazza explores the types of pathological self-injury and discusses psychiatric classifications and treatment. Bodies under Siege is not meant as a self-help book. It will, however, give you insight into the origins of self-injury and into the ways in which the psychiatric profession views this behavior (and how those views are slowly changing), as well as suggesting directions for those seeking treatment.