Toxic Imaginary : Visual Rhetoric for a Poisoned Planet

Toxins shape our world in ways we rarely see, and Toxic Imaginary exposes how Western culture makes the invisible visible through stories, symbols, and images. Jennifer Peeples delivers a sharp, urgent look at how power, pollution, and perception collide—and why understanding these visuals is essential in an increasingly contaminated world.

Toxins can be found in every body and every place around the globe, yet they are not always visible. Toxic Imaginary explores the multiple ways Western cultures “see” toxins. With incisive vision, Jennifer Peeples examines how individuals and societies use collective stories, images, symbols, and rituals to navigate the uncertainty of living in a toxic environment. Each chapter provides an example of everyday images that make up the Western toxic imaginary and introduces new rhetorical and environmental concepts for readers to critically engage with visual media. Peeples pays particular attention to the injustices and inequities of toxins, revealing how powerful entities use toxic images to obscure the reality that all people live in polluted spaces that are damaging to their health. As the number and potency of contaminants continues to rise, this exploration into how scientists, journalists, activists, designers, and artists make toxins visible is imperative for understanding how people engage with contaminants in their environments.