Drawing on ethnographic case studies from Amazonia, Indonesia, Africa, Melanesia and Polynesia, this text shows how bodily presentation plays a fundamental role in contemporary identity politics in tension with encompassing national and global stereotypes, which may in turn both constrain and empower local traditions.

Drawing on ethnographic case studies from Amazonia, Indonesia, Africa, Melanesia and Polynesia, this text shows how bodily presentation plays a fundamental role in contemporary identity politics in tension with encompassing national and global stereotypes, which may in turn both constrain and empower local traditions.