sosc 200y gender and society lecture 9: body and technology
Post on 19-Dec-2015
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L9: 09.10.06
• The body as a site of social control (Michel Foucault)
– Regulate: • Regulated by the norms of cultural life • Conform to male conceptions of women
(cultural image/ femininity)
– Improve:• improved by the new technologies and new
products
– To sustain positions of the dominance and subordination.
L9: 09.10.06
Normalizing the female body
• Changing standards of beauty?
• Increased independence of women?
L9: 09.10.06
Normalizing the female body• Nowadays’ standards:
Big bust (enlargement of beast via implants, body
gel, medicine, push-up bra)
White (Cosmetic laser treatment, medicine, SK-II, Whitening mask, cream, cleanser….)
Young (Chemical peel, plastic surgery, skin care products)
Other modification (various kinds of cosmetic surgeries: lip, cheek, nose, etc.)
L9: 09.10.06
Slim/ thin (excessive exercise and self starvation)
The problem of eating disorder- Obsession with body image- Abnormal eating- Self-induced vomiting
L9: 09.10.06
Whilst for individual women these techniques have advantages, for women as a whole they can be argued to represent a cumulative narrowing of the range of valuable femininities within a masculine-dominated culture (Pilcher,1999:106).
L9: 09.10.06
How do the girls and women think?
o Normalize their bodies in order to please male?
o Feel good while improving their “look”?o A kind of self-control?o A way to increase self-confidence?
Never join the camp of ‘femininity’? Any problem in not pursuing the norm?
L9: 09.10.06
What about boys’ experience?
• To what extent are young men in HK satisfied with their bodies?
• Men’s products:– Skin care– Hair loss treatment– Body modification– Fashions
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