The haunting fetus : abortion, sexuality, and the spirit world in Taiwan

Resource Information

The work The haunting fetus : abortion, sexuality, and the spirit world in Taiwan represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The haunting fetus : abortion, sexuality, and the spirit world in Taiwan

Title remainder

abortion, sexuality, and the spirit world in Taiwan

Statement of responsibility

Marc L. Moskowitz

Title variation

Abortion, sexuality, and the spirit world in Taiwan

Creator

• Moskowitz, Marc L

Subject

• Anatomy
• Anthropology
• Anthropology, Cultural
• BODY, MIND & SPIRIT -- Spirituality | Paganism & Neo-Paganism
• Behavior
• Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
• Buddhism
• Ceremonial Behavior
• Confucianism
• Culture
• Eastern Religions
• Embryonic Structures
• Emotions
• Family
• Fetus
• Fetus -- Religious aspects
• Fetus -- Religious aspects
• Fœtus -- Aspect religieux
• Guilt
• Humanities
• Named Groups
• Persons
• Philosophy & Religion
• Pregnant Women
• Psychology, Social
• RELIGION
• RELIGION -- Comparative Religion
• Religion
• Religion
• Religion
• Religious Philosophies
• Reproductive Physiological Phenomena
• Reproductive and Urinary Physiological Phenomena
• SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Abortion & Birth Control
• Schwangerschaftsabbruch
• Sexual Behavior
• Sexuality
• Social Behavior
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Aborted Fetus
• Taiwan
• Taiwan -- Religious life and customs
• Taiwan -- Vie religieuse
• Theology
• Women
• Taiwan

Language

eng

Summary

The Haunting Fetus focuses on the belief in modern Taiwan that an aborted fetus can return to haunt its family. Although the topic has been researched in Japan and commented on in the Taiwanese press, it has not been studied systematically in relation to Taiwan in either English or Chinese. This fascinating study looks at a range of topics pertaining to the belief in haunting fetuses, including abortion, sexuality, the changing nature of familial power structures, the economy, and traditional and modern views of the spirit world in Taiwan and in traditional Chinese thought. It addresses the mental, moral, and psychological aspects of abortion within the context of modernization processes and how these ramify through historical epistemologies and folk traditions. The author illustrates how images of fetus-ghosts are often used to manipulate women, either through fear or guilt, into paying exorbitant sums of money for appeasement. He argues at the same time, however, that although appeasement can be expensive, it provides important psychological comfort to women who have had abortions as well as a much-needed means to project personal and familial feelings of transgression onto a safely displaced object. In addition to bringing to the surface underlying tensions within a family, appeasing fetus-ghosts, like other dealings with supernatural beings in Chinese religions, allows for atonement through economic avenues. The paradox in which fetus-ghost appeasement simultaneously exploits and assists evinces the true complexity of the issue--and of religious and gender studies as a whole

Action

digitized

Cataloging source

OCLCE

Dewey number

299/.51

Government publication

government publication of a state province territory dependency etc

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Language note

In English

LC call number

BL1975

LC item number

.M67 2001

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

• dictionaries
• bibliography