12. THE BODY AS A SOCIAL ENTITY TUTORIAL

Question 1

1. Can you apply any sociological material from the previous weeks to this case?

Answer 1

• Health as a Function
• Reserve of Health
• Socio-Cultural Views
• Primary Deviance
• Cultural Beliefs that become people’s 2nd Nature

Question 2

2. What social explanations would you present to the Minister with regard to the cultural reasons behind Anorexia?

Answer 2

• EMBODIMENT:
  
  • people use their bodies as a way to fit in
  • this is caused by a decline in certainties
  • social structures have been lost
  • values have been lost with them
  • people are creating value and purpose for
    themselves
• CULTURAL VALUES:
  
  • individuals are exposed to these cultural
    values
  • we internalise them
  • we are conditioned to believe they are normal
  • our thinking reflects these values
  • we think and believe these values are our own
  • this is a cognitive/thinking process
• BODY PROJECT:
  
  • this is when people act on their cognitive
    processes
  • they take action
  • they see their body as an unfinished project
  • they take on a new identity
  • they transform themselves and their identity by
    the end of their body project journey
  • they develop a new identity
• CULTURAL VALUES ABOUT BODY IMAGE:
  
  • thin, skinny, fit is admirable
  • her peers think the same
  • peer pressure is very influential
  • the magazines and the media propagate this
    body image
• SHE HAS INTERNALISED THESE BELIEFS:
  
  • she views herself as overweight
  • she tells her parents that these are her
    values/beliefs
  • she wants to change her body and the way
    she looks
  • this is an example of Embodiment

Question 3

3. What would you suggest for reducing the yearly incidents?

Answer 3

• CHNAGE THE VALUES:
  
  • change the focus and the message we are
    spreading
  • make the value helpful
  • remove toxicity from the values we propagate
  • insist on being healthy and living a healthy life
  • place focus on good diet, fitness, mental well
    being
• GET PEOPLE TO INTERNALISE THIS MESSAGE:
  
  • the media could encourage it
  • education is necessary
  • families encouraging it
  • peer groups encourage it
  • all social institutions and structures that
    people are active in should encourage it
• people will have to act upon these values without thinking
• people will then develop a body that is considered healthy
• the overall focus will be on a healthy way of life
• the aim is to get to the level where people have this thought process as a part of their 2nd nature