ABSTRACT
This book is about leakage: of body fluids, genes, micro-organisms, knowledge and people. If dirt is ‘matter out of place’ (Douglas 1966), the categorisation of place and the rigidity of its boundaries are very important for the women studied here. Some categories are imposed upon women, though it is a long time since I heard women or children told to keep their place. Mostly we want to belong, to claim a place which is ours. The categories/places from which leakage occurs are seen differently and valued differently from within and without.
