Controlling The Body Flashcards
Highfield argues this mirrors other parts the Islamic religion such as… (1)
Praying 5 times a day
How can the Islamic faith benefit people who’ve experienced addition? (2)
The use of fasting and routinely prayer teaches them how to regulate their behaviour, making it easier for them to quit their old habits.
It also trains and increases their self control.
Name 2 other religious explanations for fasting. (2) What perspectives are these? (1 - bonus)
It’s a sacrifice for things we take for granted in honour of our faith
It makes it easier to understand the suffering of others.
These are emic perspectives.
What’s the difference between sex and gender? (2)
Your sex is determined by your biological genitalia whereas gender is a social construct used to categorise the differences between them.
Which tribe most popularly practises scarification? (1 + 1 bonus)
The betamarribe tribe in Benin.
What age are the children of the betemarribe tribe first scarred? (1)
3 - 4 yrs old
Why are children in the betamarribe scarred from such a young age? (1 + 1 bonus)
A child without these markings is considered ‘inhuman’.
If they die before receiving the cuts they are not buried in the village ceremony because they’re not ‘part of the betamarribe’
Name the 3 stages of the scarification ritual for infants (3)
The scar pattern is divined with cowrie shells into a water pot
Then the child is placed on a bed of leaves and the cutting begins on the temple.
Finally the Shea butter is applied to wounds for healing.
Where abouts on their body do betemarribe children receive their second set of scars at the age of 12? (2)
Boys - receive diagonal scars that branch outwards from their naval
Girls - receive a series of vertical cuts on their backs
Give three reasons for scarification in the betamarribe. (3)
To be initiated into the tribe
As a form of identification for other tribes
To continue their culture and tradition and honour their ancestors
Name the five theories of bodily control and the anthropologists who came up with them (when applicable). (5)
Mary Douglas’s ‘Body as text’
Mauss’s ‘Techniques of the body’
Bourdieu’s ‘Habitus’
Darwin’s ‘sexual selection’
Conforming to societies norms
Explain Mary Douglas’s ‘body as text’ (4)
The theory that our bodies, the way they’re used, what they represent and their parts can be used to convey important cultural information.
For example getting a tattoo of a song lyric conveys your love for that certain song or band.
Explain mauss’s ‘techniques of the body’ (5)
The theory that there’s a set list of universal things that every human being in every different culture does.
Eg. holding themselves upright, walking, gesturing, talking and eating.
However mauss noted that the way people do these things varies from place to place, meaning that although every individual will generally inhabit the universal practise, the way they do it will be determined by how others do it in their social environment.
For example everyone (or almost everyone) around the world eats however what you eat and how you eat it is determined on your culture.
Explain Bourdieu’s ‘habitus’ (2)
The theory that a certain behaviour or belief becomes part of a society’s structure even though the original purpose of that behaviour or belief can no longer be recalled as it becomes socialised into that culture.
Eg. Walking in Japan
Explain Darwin’s ‘sexual selection’ (4)
There’s competition between individuals for who’s the most sexually attractive. Those with the better more appealing characteristics are chosen as mating partners meaning only the most aesthetically pleasing features are passed down leading, over generations, to a more sexually attractive species as the one’s who are less so eventually die out due to lack of partners.
For example male peacock feathers.
In humanity, sexual selection can be a reason for body modification for example dying your hair a certain colour may be considered more sexually attractive.
