Week 11 : Looking deviant, body image Lecture

Question 1

How long does it take to label & judge someone on superficial things…

Answer 1

• a tenth of a second

Question 2

Master status

Answer 2

• our physical appearance is part of our master status & defines ‘who we are’
• Master status = primary level we attach to a person that subsequently defines who they are
• when we are making a judgement about someone based on how they look, we are looking at auxilliary traits underneath hat (e.g. morals, character) from how they look on the outside

Question 3

Beauty is cultural

Answer 3

• standards (norms) are influenced by social power
• a lot of beauty standards are prescribed to us by specific moral entrepreneours/situations and these standards are different all around

Question 4

What is body image?

Answer 4

• a subjective picture of ones own phsical appearance established by self-obervation & by noting the reactions of others (looking-glass self)
• transcends time and space
• ideological… we create an image of ‘beauty’ (ideal)
• there are things we can control and things we cannot (voluntary & involuntary)
• bodies tell us about the self, identity formation & how ppl understand themselves & attribute meaning to their physical appearance
• it is a construction

Question 5

What influences our body image?

Answer 5

1. society
2. identity & health
3. media
4. friends, family & partners
5. life experiences !!!!! (veterans, aging, pregnancy)
   - it changes throughout our life & traumatic events can impact body image

Question 6

Military veterans & body image

Answer 6

• physical injust due to combat/training (amputations/burns, etc.)
• more likely to survive injuries that once would have been fatal but the psychological impact can be profound… negative image, anger, managing stigma & isolation
• military culture… soldier identity (physical), underresearched, gender race ethnicity class intersect

Question 7

body image is an ideal

Answer 7

• what we are trying to achieve is the ideal… not the norm
• ideal means perfect
• majoroity of ppl will never reach this

Question 8

Objective vs subjective

Answer 8

• objective… looking at what it is about the person that makes it difficult to fit into the normalized idea of what it means to be normal in body (characteristics of the person)
• subjective… looks at characteristics of society itself & social relationships
• using them together we have a more full understanding

Question 9

sociall controlling weight

Answer 9

• commercialization… money spent on body image, weight, weightloss, surgery, clothes is high, SUPER discriminatory
• medicalization… happens for too fat and too thin like pills, treatments, BMI labels
• government… policies centrered around weight (public health, workplace health & safety, etc.)
• community… control/socially steer weight

Question 10

Pathologized bodies

Answer 10

• women feel as though their bodies have been pathologized (weight was her fault)
• Eating healthy and going to the gym is super expensive so likeeeeee it is a disadvantaged process… led by shame
• body size controlling can lead to many health issues
• sizeism… discrimination based on body size
• not all obese ppl are unhealthy, unfit, to blame… not all thin ppl are healthy & not all ‘too thin’ have control

Question 11

Morality & weight (auxiliary traits)

Answer 11

• link between morality & weight
• construction of body image is related more to those percieved traits under the surface than the body shape itself
• why goodness is linked to beauty and weight

Question 12

Why body image needs regulation

Answer 12

• role of media in amplifying the significance of female attractiveness
• Lack of body confidence is linked to risky behaviour so, if we are not building ppl up in how they look they then are more likely to engage in risky behaviour
• there needs to be a pressure to represent more variety & realistic images
• need to develop social & political culture that makes the media, beauty & fashion industries more responsible (government can be a part of this)

Question 13

“body image is not a fact”

Answer 13

• it is a social construction
• we percieve it to be a fact (BMI, e.g.) but they differ among cultures & times so how does that make sense
• our body image is based on flawed tools

Question 14

Resisting labels

Answer 14

• some ppl resist these labels
• ppl minimizing fat shaming
• anas who resist label of anorexia & say there it nothing wrong with it

Question 15

Body art & deviance

Answer 15

• becoming deviant is a process
• in body art is is an experience of changing something percieved as normal
• when we do body art being deviant becoes a part of our social status & identity
• being deviant is a social status… a relative position in society that becomes part of our social identity

Question 16

Auxilliary traits for body modification

Answer 16

• hair dyed in the right colour & way is a positive but if someone does it weird it can work against them

Question 17

Who gets to decide what is beautiful art and what is not?

Answer 17

• philosophy of aesthetics dives into this
• it has been getting better but it is still not the norm with tattoos

Question 18

What people get tattoos of matters

Answer 18

• extension of self, demonstrate group identity, women can pick images of femininity of opposite as a way of resistance
• this is kinda biased
• women discriminated against more for having body art than others (they also judge each other more)

Question 19

Body art objective vs subjective

Answer 19

• objective… ppls body projects tell us about characteristics of the individual
• subjective… tell us about characteristics of society, society relationships & the self

Question 20

Studies on body art

Answer 20

• originally symbol of belonging & membership
• then associated with carnivals, circus ppl, class & crime
• body modification & riskby behaviour
• more likely to donate to charity/do volunteer work