Social Body

Encyclopedia Entry Term: Social Body

The term “Social Body” refers to an idea that a “body” can be used as a symbol in society (Scheper-Hughes et al. 1987, 19). An idea of a body can have influence on society. Additionally, society can shape the idea of a body. According to symbolic sociologists, the body represents a “both physical and cultural artifact” (Scheper-Hughes et al 1987, 19). A perceived idea of the body, defined by a society, determines how bodies eat, dress, interact with others, and feel.  The “Social Body” can include from how beauty is defined to what defines an individual as sick as opposed to healthy (McGuire et al. 2003, 4).

The term “social body” is used in a variety of disciplines. The study of how the body relates to society and vice versa is a topic among sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and psychoanalysts (Scheper-Hughes 1987, 19). “The body” has held significance in the sociological profession for the last twenty years. Sociologists examine how the body and society intertwine on a micro level. Looking through a symbolic interactionalist viewpoint, sociologists are able to represent the body as a symbol in individuals lives and on a more macro level in how individuals relate to the greater society (Scheper-Hughes 1987, 19). Sociologists use the body to understand how human beings are able to relate and connect with others (Waskul et al 2006, 2). The idea of the “Looking-glass Body” emphasizes a sociological micro level approach which says that the way that one sees his body is how he thinks that another sees his body. His view is dependent on the another (Waskul et al 2006, 4). Symbolic anthropologists see that the “experiences of the body” are a “representation of society” (Scheper et al 1987, 19). The body has been a topic of interest in anthropology since the 19^th century (Featherstone 1991, 1). The symbolic anthropologist asks why the body is acting in the fashion that it is. The psychoanalyst understands that “social practices” are always compared back to the “representation of the self with the body”. (Scheper-Hughes 1987, 19). For example, how the understanding of the body changes overtime might be used to contextualize how society perceives the body. (Scheper 1987, 19).

Throughout the world, and especially within the United States of America, an impression of the idea of a body is emphasized throughout the media. The media acts as a major source of transmitting societal views. Magazines such as Health, Men’s Health, and Shape display the images of an extremely specific body on the covers. These magazines capture audiences by using catchphrases such as “A Better You!” or “Get You Dream Body Now!”. TV shows portray a certain body shaped as healthy or beautiful as opposed to unhealthy. Images that express societal views of the body can be portrayed in schools, city campaigns, and doctors’ offices (Metzl 2010). Because the “body” as an image can be extremely broad, it often expands into other areas of life. For example, the body can be used to show society’s views on personality, relationships, job success, etc. (Metzl 2010).

The body used as a symbol has inevitably generated controversy. The integration of the body has created a “normal” standard in society. The shift towards the politicization of the body can also be seen in the nationwide increased importance of the body. Because of the increased importance, there has been a spike in the medicalization and pharmaceuticalization of issues outside of the “normal” standard.

Utilizing the word “health” in connection to a certain body in media, causes stigmatizing rhetoric (Metzl 2010).  There has been a development of many “anti-norm movements” across the country in response to the a labeling of a standard body size, such as the “Health at Any Size movement”. These “counterculture” movements demonstrate the strength that society has over the idea of the body

In a structural sense, society delegates how it desires the body to be. The policies created can control how the body is seen and received by public health providers and services. By labeling and medicalizing the states of certain bodies as opposed to others, ideas about the body is solidified in society. In addition, the policies act as a support for the common social feeling about the body. Because of the constant change in what the body means in a particular culture, the role of the policy shifts accordingly (Machteld Huber et al 2011, 1). This can be seen in the shift towards healthy exercise and eating choices in youth in recent years. For example, nationwide campaigns for healthy lifestyles among children, such as Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, focuses on the problem of childhood obesity.

WORKS CITED

Featherstone Mike, Hepworth Mike, Turner Bryan S. The Body: Social Process and Cultural Theory. Sage, 1991.

Waskul Dennis, Vannini Phillip. The Body in Symbolic Interaction. Ashgate, 2006.

McGuire Meredith B., Freund Peter E. S. Linda S. Podhurst. Health, Illness, and the Social Body: A Critical Sociology. Prentice Hall, 2003.

Machteld Huber et al, “How should we define health?”, British Medical Journal 2011. Accessed January 30 2017, doi: 10.1136/bmj.d416 .

Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Margret M. Lock “The Mindful Body: A Prolegomenon to Future Work in Medical Anthropology”, JSTOR 1997. Accessed January 29 2017.

Metzl, Jonathan. Why Against Health? NYU Press, 2010