11 THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE BODY BRYAN S. TURNER National University of Siagapore LOCATING THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE BODY ‘The body is a contested and problematic feature of modern societies, giving rise to the view that we live in a “somatic society” (Tumer 1992}, The political and cultural com- plexity of the madern notion of the body is a product of changes in the medical and biological sciences and their application to, for cxample, human reproduction. It is also ‘a consequence of social movements such as feminism and enviroamentalism, The result is that many of the most pressing moral problems of the modem world are related to changes ia the nature of human embodiment. With stem cell rescarch, it has been claimed that in principle we can live “forever” In addition, in advanced socictics, women in ‘old age can claim an unlimited right to reproduce through ascicted reproduction. With the use of drugs (oc, metaphor- ically speaking, “mental steroids") to enhance brain cells, itis theoretically possible to manufacture an intellectual lite, These are some of the pressing political and ethical issues relating to the human body that modem society needs to address. ‘The sociology of the body is a product of this emerging social complexity. Research on the body is, of course, not necessarily new in the social sciences. There is a well- cstablished anthropological tradition of rescarch on dance, tattooing. body symbolism, and somatic classification schemes from the work of Marcel Mauss to Mary Douglas (Blacking 1977). Anthropologists have contributed in par- ticular to the analysis of body decoration (Caplan 2000) and to the study of bealing and trance in relation to body states (Strathern 1996). The rescarch of Douglas (1966) on the classification of pollution and taboo through metaphor- ical references to apertures in the human body —what goes into man does not defile him, but what-comes out does— remains the classical text on the categorization of danges. However, the sociology of the body is a clatvely recent development, largely emerging in British sociology at the beginning ofthe 1980s (Tumer 1984). Soriological studies of the body originally examined the impact of con- sumerismon the represenation of the body in urban societies (Featherstone 1982): gendcr differentiation through bodily practices and the “mask of ageing” (Featherstone and Hepworth 1991). The journal Bexty & Society was founded in 1995. This research interest was initially confined to British sociology (Featherstone, Hepworth, and Tumer 1991; Shilling 1993), but there has also been an expanding interest in Canada with Five Bodies (O°Neill 1985), in France with Le gouvernement des corps (Fassin and Memmi 2604), and in Germany with Sociologie des Korpers (Gugutser 2008). The study of the body has also become increasingly multidisciplinary as a topic, and major contributions have come from history, religious studies, and archeology. In this context, one can refer to influential works such as Richard Sennett's Flesh and Stone (1994), Thomas Laqueur’s (1990) Mating Sex (1990), and J.J. Brumberg's Fasting Girls (1983). (One can find earlier historical roots of the study of the body in various strands of sociology. as illustrated by Erving Goffman in The Presentation of Self in Everydary Life (1959) and Stigma (1964) and by Norbert Elias on the civilizing process (1978). However, the study of the body thas drawn on a heterogeneous range of theoretical sources from Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality (1979), andthrough the work of Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann (1967), it has included the philosophical anthropology of Amold Gehlen (1980). It is also possible to identify an intellectual history that goes back eventually to Karl Mary's Paris manuscripts, in which he developed the notions of praris, species-bcing, tcchnology, and alica- ation, which were subscqueally influential in critical theories. It is also important to recognize that sociology has drawn significantly from modern philosophy. At least ‘one linking theme here is the impact of Friedrich Nictssche, Martin Heidegger, and broadly, “continental Philosophy” in terms of the ereation of a social ontology. Finally, the sociology of the body can be scen as an aspect ‘of a broader philosophical criticism of the legacy of (Cartesian rationalism by the Frankfurt School, existential~ ism, and Heideggerian ontology (Stauth and Turner 1988). In simple terms, the sociology of the body involves the study of the embodied nature of social action and ‘exchunge; the cultural representations of the human body: the social nature of performance: in dance, games, sport, and so forth; and the reproduction of the body in the social structure. In intellectual terms, the sociology of the body is an attempt to offer a sociological reflection on the separa- tion of mind and body, which has been characteristic of ‘Westem philosophy since the time of René Descartes (1591-1650), Recent research has offen been significantly influenced by ferninism, cultural anthropology, and post- modem social theory, and heace sociologists have been ‘concemed to understand how the naturalness of the body is socially constructed as a social fact. For example, sociola- gists have questioned the notion that right-handedness is produced by lefi- and right-sidedness in the brain by argu- ing that the superiority of right-sidedness in human societies is a cultural convention that is reinforced by socialization. As a result, the sociology of the body has had 2 critical edge in disability studies and radical feminism, ‘where activists have used sociology to deconstruct the dominant, hegemonic interpretation of the body as an unchanging aspect of nature. In contrast, it is asserted that the body is constructed to support dominant relations of power and authority. In a postorthodox intellectual setting, the sociology of the body shades off into queer theory, les ian and gay studies, film theory, dance studies, radical ‘feminism, and postmodernism (Halbersiam and Livingston 1995). ‘Conceptual Distinctions It is important to establish some guidelines to terminol- ‘ogy. In recent studies of the body, it has become common- place to distinguish betweea the body and embodiment. ‘The former refers to cultural analyses af how the body is represented in society and how it fnctions as a symbolic system. For example, the body of the king was often taken to be a symbolic representation of the sovereignty of the State, and in contrast, the study of courtly rituals might focus on embodiment, such as the actual bodily practices ‘The Sociotogy af the Body + 91 ‘of count officials around the monarch, This distinction between symbolic cultures and performance has hecame a significant division in saciology, where it is also associated with the division between various forms of struecturalism, on the one hand, and phenomenology, on the other. Another important distinction in recent debate has been ‘with respect to the relative merits of developing the body as a generic theme of sociology (an embodied or corporeal sociology) versus the emergence of a specific subficld (comparable with the sociology of the family, for ‘example), namely, the sociology of the body. No consen- sus has emerged on the analytical resolution of these ‘THEORETICAL APPROACHES ‘One can identify four major theoretical traditions in the sociology of the body. The first demonstrates that the body js not a natural phenomenon but a social construct The second perspective explores how the body is a representa tion of the social relations of power. In the third orienta ton, sociology examines the phenomenology of the “lived body"—that is, the experience of embodiment in the ‘everyday world. Finally, sociology, much influenced by anthropology. looks at bodily performance of acquired practices or techniques. ‘The notion that the body is socially constructed has been the dominant perspective in modem sociology, and it is closely associated with social movements that typically ‘employ constructionism as a critical tool to deny that the body is simply a natural object (Radley 1995). For ‘example, feminist theory has examined the social con struction of the body and rejected the notion of an essea- tial or natural body. For instance, Simone de Beauvoir in ‘The Second Sex (1972) argued famously that women are rot born but become women through social and psycho logical procesces that construct them as essentially female. Her work inaugurated a research tradition that concen trates on the social production of differences in gender and sexuality. The basic contribution of feminist theories of the body has been to social constructionism—that is, to the ‘explanation that the differences between male and female badics, which in the everyday world we take for granted as If they were facts of nature, are socially produced. Feminism in the 1970s was ideologically important in ‘establishing the difference between biologically deter- mined sex and the social construction of gender roles and sexual identities. Empirical research has subsequently ‘explored how the social and political subordination of ‘women is expressed in psychological conditions such as ‘depression and physical illness. Creative research in med- ical sociology examined anorexia nervosa, obesity, and ‘eating disorders—for instance, Susan Hordo's Unbearable92 © THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE SELF ‘Weight (1993). There have also beea important historical studies of anorexia (Brumberg 1988), while the popular Titerature was influenced by Susan Orbach’s (1985) Fat Is a Feminist Issue. ‘Research on the body in popular culture has explored ‘how women’s bodies are literally constructed as consumer ‘objects, and sociologists have become interested conse ‘quently in the social implications of cosmetic surgery (Davis 2002; Negrin 2002). Cosmetic surgery involves the ‘actual reconstruction of the “natural” body to produce ‘social—that is, acsthetic—effects. While acsthetic surgery is becoming routine, the negative consequences of cos metic surgery have come to public attention through sensa- tional cases such as the death of Lolo Ferrari, whose eighteen operations created what were reputed to be the largest female breasts in the world with a 54G cup (Shepherd 2004). There: are other celebrity cases, such as that of Jocelyne Wildenstein, who has shaped her face to ook like a leopard (Pits 2003). Orlan's surgical perfor~ mances are designed to challenge the alliance between medicine, market, and aesthetics in a consumer society ‘where the human (typically, female) body is being sirmul- taneously physically and socially reconstructed (Clarke 1999). More: recently, the notion of the constructed body hhas become especially significant in political advocacy by disability groups. Influenced by sociological theory, dis- ‘ability activists argue that “disability” is mot physical ‘impairment but a loss of social rights (Bames, Mercer, and ‘Shakespeare 1999). ‘Within this constructionist perspective, there has also been considerable interest in the social implications of machine-body fusions, or cyborgs (Featherstone and Burrows 1995). For example, there has long been a strong ‘association between technology and masculinity. In popu lar culture, Robocop was at one stage the ultimate cyborg, ‘the merging of machine and organism, bat he also illus- rated very traditional gender themes about power and sex- uality. The technology of Robocop now looks antiquated ‘by comparison with the more sophisticated computerized ‘world of Terminator, Star Wars, and Matrix. However, this ‘homa faber perspective remains a vivid myth that concep tualizes Man as the maker and builder, whose hands are potent tools. This pervasive urban myth elevates a particu- Jar form of masculinity and denies the potential of altema~ tive relations between the body and technology. In recent ‘years, however, feminists have begun to confront the con ‘ventional relationship between women and technology and to explore not only the potential benefits for women of reproductive technologies but also the reproductive and ‘cmancipatory implications of new technologies (Haraway 1991). The new information technology and the potential ‘of virtual reality and cyberspace all attracted great interest. ‘Computer simulations and networks create the possibilities of new experiences of disembodiment, re-embodiment, ‘and emotional attachment, All this threatens to transform conventional assumptions about the nature of social ‘relationships. ‘Technological construction, as an implicit framework, ‘can also be suid to include the political statements of per- formance artist like Stelorc and Orlan. Through a scries of artistic performances, Stelarc explored the interconnec- tions between the body, technology, and the environment to promote the idea of the end of the body as a natural ‘phenomenon (Fleming 2002). In the case of Orlan, the sur- ical reconstructions of her fare are intended to be performances in which she ironically questions the trans- formation of women’s bodies by cosmeties and cosmetic surgery. By transforming surgery into a public drama, she titically explores the exploitative relationships. between ‘cosmetics, medical practice, and gender stereotypes. Sie is literally showing how medical technology can socially reconstruct her body. Here, we see the body being used as asite-on which a performance occurs that delivers a pow- erful political statement. Although this technological imension is an underdeveloped aspect of social constnuc- tionism, one should include it here to make a contrast with more deterministic models of the cultural production of the body. Orlan's surgery ironically displays the power of medical technology while also calling technology into ‘question as part of the economic apparaius of a consumer society. Cultural Representation Within & cultural perspective, the bady is often described as a cultural representation of social organiza- tion and power relations. This approach has been a com- ‘mon aspect of historical escarch, art criticism, and social anthropology. The human body has been a potcat and persistent metaphor for sacial and political relations ‘throughout human history. Different parts of the body have: historically represented different social functions. For example, we can refer to the “head of state” without really recognizing the metaphor. while the heart has been a rich source of ideas about Ife, imagination, and emotions. Iti the house of the soul and the book of life, and the “tables of the heart” provided a perspective into the whole of ‘Nature. Similarly, the hand occupies an important position ‘in shaping the imagination with respect to things that are ‘beautiful (handsome) or useful (handy) or damaged and incomplete (handicap). For cxample, lefehandedness rep- rescnts things and relationships that ave sinister (Hertz 1960). Following the work of Foucault, historical research thas demonstrated how representations of the body are the result of relations of power, particularly between men and ‘women, One classe illustration is the historical argument ‘that anatomical maps of the human body vary between societies in terms of the dominant discourse of gender (Petersen 1938), Sociologiss have shown how disturbances are typically ‘grasped in the metaphors by which we understand mental and physical health. Body metaphors have been important in moral debate about these social disuptioas. The divi- sion between good and evil has drawn heavily on bodilymetaphors; what is sinister is related wo left-handedness, the illegitimate side, the awkward side. Our sense of social ‘order is spoken of in terms of the balance ar imbalance of the body. In the eighteenth century, when physicians tumed to mathematics to produce a Newtonian picture of the body, the metaphor of hydraulic pumps was uscd to ‘cxpress human digestion and blood circulation. The thera- peutic bleeding af patients by knife or lecch was to assist this hydraulic mechanism and to relieve morbid pressures ‘on the mind. Severe disturbances in saciety were often imagined as poor social digestion. These assumptions about social unrest producing disorder in the gut are reflected in the basic idea of the need for a govemment of the body. Dietary management of the body was translated into fiscal constraint, reduction in government expendi- ture, and downsizing of public institutions. Ia the language ‘of modern management science, a lean and mean corpara- tion requires a vibrant management team. In neoliberal Ideology, central government is an excess—a form of political flatulence. Phenomenological Perspective “The concept of the “lived hogy” was developed by the French philosopher Maurice Mericau-Ponty (1982) in his Phenomenology of Perception. In developing the phenom- cenology of the everyday world, he was conccened to under stand human consciousness, perception, and intentionality. ‘His work was original in applying Edmund Husserl’s phe- romenology to intentional consciousness to everyday ph nomena but from the perspective of corporeal existence. He wanted to describe the lived world without the use of the conventional dualism between subject and object. Hence, Merleau-Ponty was critical of the legacy of Descartes’s cngito erga sum (1 think, therefore T am”), Which hud established the dualism between mind and body, Merleau-Pomty developed the idea of the “body- suibjct” tha is always situated ina specific space within a determinate social realty. Rejecting behavioral and mech anistic approaches, he claimed thatthe body is central to four being in the world. Perception cannot be treated as merely a disembodied consciousness. Research inspired by this idea of the lived body and lived experience has been important in demonstrating the intimate and acces sary connections between body, experience, and ideality. Swudics of traumatic experiences relating to discase or accident have shown how damage to the physieal body transforms the self and how sharing naratives can be important in sustaining an adequate sense of self-worth (Becker 1997). This phenomenological perspective on the body has consequently been important in medical sociol- ogy, especially in rescarch dealing with pain and discam- fort. Research on violence and torture has alsa drawn on the sociology ofthe body to understand how the everyday environment (of tools and domestic appliances) can be used to undermine the ontological security of people (Searry 1985; Tumer 2003). ‘The Sociology of the Body + 93 Bodily Practices Finally, we can also examine how human beings are ‘embodied and how people leam corporeal practices that are necessary for walking, dancing, shaking hands, and so ‘on. Social anthropologists have been influenced in partic- uular by Marcel Mauss (1979), who invented the concept of “body techniques” to describe how people eam to manage their bodies according to social norms. Children, for Instance, have to learn how to sit properly at table and boys eam how to throw in ways that differentiate them from girls. This anthropological legacy suggests that we can think about the body as an ensemble of practices. These Maussian assumptions have been developed by Pierre Bourdieu in terms of two influential concepts. Heris refers to the deportment (gait, gesture, or posture) by which people carry themselves. Habitus refers to the dispositions through which taste is expressed. It is the habitual way of ‘doing things. Bourdieu (1984) has employed these terms to study the everyday habitus of social classes in Distinction. ‘A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. The body is invested with symbolic capital whereby it is a corporcal ‘expression of the hierarchies of social power. The body is permanently cultivated and represented by the aesthetic references of different social classes, whereby in French ‘culture, mountaineering and tennis require the flexible, slim, and pliant bodies of the middle and upper classes. ‘whereas the working-class sports of wrestling, produce an ‘entirely different hody and hahitus. Rourdiew's work is important because it has identified the significance of per- formance in his notions of practice, cultural capital, and hhexis, and fis approach has been influential in studies of habitus from boxing (Wacquant 1995) to classical ballet (Tumer and Wainwright 2003). ‘Empirical work inspired by Bourdieu is currently the ‘most promising framework for the development of socio logical perspectives. One neglected area in sociology how- ever is performance. For example, to study ballet as performance rather than as representation, sociologists faced to pay close attention to the performing body. [Richard Shusterman in Performing Live (2000), drawing ‘on the work of Bourdieu and developing a pragmatist aes- thetics, has argued that an aesthetic understanding of a per- formance such as hip hop cannot neglect the embodied features of artistic activity. An understanding of embodi- ‘ment and lived expericnee: is crucial in comprehending performing arts and also for the study of the body in sport. ‘While choreography is in one sense the defining text of the ‘dance, performance takes place outside the strict directions ‘of the choreographic work and analysis. Dance as perfor- ‘mance has an acsthetic immediacy, which cannot be cap- tured by disembodied discourse analysis. It is important to recapture the intellectual contribution of the phenomenol- ‘ogy of human embodiment in order to- avoid the unwar- ranted reduction of bodies to cultural texts. Dance is a theoretically challenging topic because it demonstrates the analytical imitations of cultural interpretations of the body