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BODIES (meanings are social)•We think of bodies as biological•skeletons •bodies differ•positive judgement & negative •Ethnocentrism •meaning your standards are everyone’s standards (universal)•everyone is ethnocentric •Body standards vary from place to place •Paleolithic “venus” figures•From Europe about 25,000 years ago •Large women •Many cultures consider that being heavier is a good thing •sign of wealth and prosperity **most cultures, having more weight is desirable**•Reubenesque •Larger women paintings •French postcards •early erotic photos •Gibson girls turn-of-the-century icons •very thin waist •John Held’s flappers •very thin; look anorexic •In Africa & Asia •large women are celebrated *fat is valued when it symbolizes wealth and leisure* ~ Queens •Jane Austen’s women •respectable women but not rich; looking for wealthy husbands•wear bonnets because they don’t want to be tan•if tan, it showed you worked outside and were poor •loss of respect •In many famous nude paintings - women were pale•Now •being tan is a sign that we don’t have to work •have time to get outside - leisure •which means tan lines are sexy •leads to fake tanning •Thorstein Veblen •famous for writing the sarcastic book The Theory Of The Leisure Class•conspicuous consumption •consume things that demonstrate your wealth •dogs & horses were status symbol - high maintenance •women would have elaborate hairstyles -servants (status) •men carry walking stick- proves that you aren’t doing anything useful (not work-ing)•powdered wig- sign of age (wise) •high waist - look old •Today old people wear clothes to make them look younger •One’s body can be changed •medical modification •Can look at bodies at achievements •Tattoos suggested lower status •Marlboro cigarettes used to be for women •ad with man holding cigarette with a tattoo •Tattoos were signs of criminality •Now tattoos are respectable - artistic •Bodies become social problems •obesity •standards shift •desirable healthy weight •In 1998 the federal gov redefined the BMI range for normal weight •Anorexia is also a problem •pro-ana sites - celebrate anorexia •Erving Goffman •book called The Presentation Of Self In Everyday Life•dramaturgical perspective - all life can be seen as a theatrical perfor-mance •aspects of performance;•appearance •demeanor•speech, etc.•Theater: front & backstage regions•what people see & what they don’t see •Home: front & back regions •living room, bedrooms (tucked away) •Work: •front & back office •Teams that put on performances •family members, co-workers, celebrities •Embarrassment from failure to manage one’s appearance •sense where you have been “found out” in your performance •failed in your performance•People use their bodies to get where they want to be in the world •World we live in has been made for us by other people according to their standards •Product of society where you make yourself look desirable according


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UD SOCI 201 - BODIES

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