Sociology 2259 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Laser Hair Removal, Body Art, Body Piercing
30 Apr 2018
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Chapter 7- Looking Deviant: Physical Appearance:
Voluntary and involuntary physical appearance:
• Which forms vol physical appearance considered deviant depends sociohistorical context
• Most 20th cent, people w tattoos viewed neg and presumed have other neg characteristics
as well- end 20th cent tattoos and other forms body art (piercing) less stig, and some cults
body art commonplace centuries
• Appearance can be one aspect overall lifestyle based on political, philosophical/ social
foundations
• Little/ no choice regarding invol aspects appearance (height, nose size, visible disability)
may still be stigmatized in our society
• Some combine vol and invol physical appearance ex: body weight
• What considered varies across cults and over time, and may even vary across subgroup
within single cult ex: CN membs specific ethnocult groups adhere hair/ clothing styles
• Body projects- ways each of us adapts, changes/ controls characteristics of our bodies and
whether those characteristics are vol/ invol- 4 dif categories:
o Camouflaging- norm techniques body manipulation, learned in socialization
process ex: makeup, clothing and hairstyle
o Extending- attempt overcome physical lims ex: use contact lens/ cane
o Adapting- parts body removed/ repaired for host aesthetic/ medical reasons ex:
weight loss, muscle building, laser hair removal
o Redesigning- reconstruct body lasting ways ex: plastic surgery, tattoos, body
piercing
• Bodies tell bout characteristics individs involved part body projects, such as age, sex,
SES, fam struct and funct, academic perf, personality and psychopathology (objective)
• Bodies tell about self, ident formation and how people come understand themselves and
attribute meaning to physical appearance (subjective)
• Body project integral constructing and rep ident over life course
• More subj, bodies also tell us about characteristics of broader soc and cult
• Redesigning projects commonly known body mod/ body art- tattooing, piercing, branding
and scarification (increasingly common and accepted past decades)
• Adapting projects rel body size/ weight
• Physical appearance socially typed deviant, meanings, stereotypes and interps attached
appearance gen neg reaction not nec look itself
• Physical appearance= master status- category immediately place people in upon first
seeing them, sub def who person is, auxiliary traits attach make sig
Body modification:
• Body mod been variously used mark outlaw status and nobility, insiders and outsiders,
soldiers and slaves
• Early Christian and medieval eras, some Europeans had tattoos rep religious affiliations
and dedication, although practice largely abandoned over time
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• Diverse cults, tattooing, branding, piercing, scarification and implanting served rites
passage, ritual initiations/ symbols sexuality
• European discourses supp colonization emph civilized nature European soc in contrast to
“primitive” nature other cults- body mod equated w savagery, primitiveness and
heathenness
• Colonization also meant Christianization, Old Testament dictates “not make any cuttings
in your flesh for the dead nor print any marks upon it”
• Deviant increased fascination- during late 18th and early 19th cents, ppl w extensive body
mods feat in carnival side shows, partially nude and frequently dressed as savages
• 1950s, tattoos est means symbolizing masculinity and brotherhood in working-class
comm and military
• 1960s criminal comm also increasingly adopted tattooing, indicate memb and allegiance
• Countercult era 1960s and 70s brought emergence youth used tattooing and other body
mod “collective rep” subcults and political/ social ideologies
• Since then, tattooing and piercing increasingly entered F and middle-class comms- 1997,
body mod in top 6 fastest growing industries US
• 21st cent body mod pervasive within pop cult- commodification body mod, part tattoos,
also evident range tattoo-rel products targeted at kids, easy get- body mod more prevalent
esp youth
What do modified bodies tell us?
Characteristics of body modifiers: Risk and motivation:
• Presence tattoos and piercings (above all, among youth) ass w broader range risk, such
that youth have forms body mod perceived being “at risk” more gen- growing prevalence
body mod in uni and uni pops increasingly calls conclusions into question
• Much risk-oriented research highlights psych and behav risk, analysing ass b/w body
mod and other prob characteristics such as risky sexual behav, substance use, violence,
eating disorders, edu difs and suicide
• Body mod ass grade 9-12 poorer attitudes toward school, lower edu aspirations, weapon
possession, substance use, delinquency and poor self-esteem
• Research explores relationship b/w body mod and other types risk inconsistent- age first
piercing ass w greater psychopathology (adolescence) and those w tattoos higher SE
• Proposed association b/w body mod and other risks directly linked social control efforts
• Pot risks harm inherent in body mod
• Aesthetic motivations- improve appearance/ think attractive opp sex, referring to mods as
beauty, fashion/ art
• Pursuit ident- body mods may symbolize affiliations w part groups and thus cont dev
social idents
• Individ ident formation and dev primary motivation for body mod, wish express
themselves/ feel unique
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• Subj analysis body mod not perceived telling about characteristics individs have tattoos
and piercings, but rather telling about dev understanding and meaning, processes social
interaction and structs power- examine ident understanding self- investigate role body
mod in understanding and dev meanings of self in relation to others and within broader
societal and cult framework
The self and society: Understanding, meaning and resistance:
• Body becomes story individs interests, desires, friendships and love relationships
• Self not purely individ in nature but emerges via processes social interaction- as interact
w those close w (sig others) and w soc in gen (gen other), try to see society their pov= inf
how understand ourselves and our place in the world
• Dramaturgical persp- decisions whether engage in body mod and precise nature any body
art all part constructing front-stage selves and back-stage selves- what image
intentionally want to project and if body mod be part image
• Engage in impression management surrounding art- how large, location and to whom
displayed
• Disapproval one’s fam and friends makes body mod less likely- parents disapprove, may
select design less likely disapprove of (small flowers)/ location can easily be hidden, can
also be used as protest against parents/ parents gen
• Individs more likely actively seek opinions peers when deciding whether engage in body
mod- once decision made, seek out more interactions peers also have= feel better
decisions and provide validation of self
• Co-workers and employers play considerable role decisions regarding body art display
and front vs back-stage selves- hide view b/c formally sanctioned/ concerned threats prof
image (inapprop physicians facial piercing and personally bother if have physician w-
more positive if had body mod but even 33% considered inapprop)
• Attitudes not solely based physical appearance, also affected by meanings/ auxiliary traits
attached to that appearance- doctors w facial piercings less comp and trustworthy
(expectations ass w one’s prof role may place constraints on nature and extent self-
esteem)
• Nature of each dif role play influences people’s perceptions of and reactions any body art
may have
Women and tattoos:
• F w tattoos remain stigmatized, being perceived as more promiscuous, less attractive and
heavier drinkers
• Tattooed F perceived more neg non-tattooed- large/ highly visible more neg small/ non-
visible, men more neg than F and if had tattoo infl (highly visible neg everyone)
• Discourses gender also play sig part own body projects and rel b/w projects and dev
gendered self- used by W in dev gendered idents, emerge from and have impact on
structs power in society
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Document Summary
Too fat , too thin and ideal : body size and weight more likely be used eval criterion w than m- wider range body types considered acceptable (also subject judgment) The ideal body according to social standards: standards vary across cults and over time, but any given cult moment can ident what stands constitute ideal body. Too fat : commercialization, societal reaction and social control: Controlling too fat : kids and adolescents too fat most frequently experience direct and intentional teasing/ name-calling by classmates- verbally teased, physically bullied and face social exclusion. Germany and sweden (other countries moving same direction) Too thin : commercialization, societal reaction and social control: Perceptions of people who are underweight: not considered too thin until reach point emancipation- otherwise congratulated losing weight. Media: extremely thin celebs now having neg labels attached to them (not as evident control overweight)
