WEEK 14-DEVIANT BODIES TAT'S AND
MPS EXAM
physical deviance - Correct Answers -body differences often regarded aas signs of
moral failing
includes various "abominations of the body"
e.g. obesity, deformity, extensive tattooing, scaring
-can result in a spoied identity
results in stigmatization, lead to labels of "Other"
include mechanisms of informal social control - shunning
-some differences elicit sympathy -e.g. club fight
but, differences regarded as self-inflicted usually do not
result in "achieved stigma"
achieved stigma - Correct Answers --intential cultivation of a stigmatizing attribute
ind regarded by "normals" as "morally blameworthy"
-ind held in contempt for violating social body norms
-ind may be attributed a "master status" as a result
ind's body difference becomes primary identifying trait
may also be accorded auxiliary traits
e.g. sexual perversions, unstable personality, criminality
What are the 2 Types of Body Modification (BM)? - Correct Answers -i) tattooing - once
deviant, now normalized
(ii) non-mainstream body modification - currently deviant
some are forms of extreme deviance
both are examples of how the body is socially constructed,how cultural meanings are
inscribed on the body,expressed through the body, how the physical body is becoming
increasingly "plastic"
i.e. malleable & modified by culture
BM in traditional-non-western societies - Correct Answers --body markings are
permanent, obligatory, collective
part of shared culture of collective meanings
, inscribed during important rituals - e.g. rites of passage
-ensured stability of in-groups against outsifers
social membership expressed though marking the body
-significance of markings were unambiguous
designated economic, political & gender identities
kinship affiliation - who one could & could not marry
marked inds location in the group & life cycle
e.g. scarification of young men in Papua New Guinea
Practices & Meanings of Body Modification in industrialised/'post-modern' societies -
Correct Answers --1970e-rising incidence of body modification (BM) in NA, EU
Ex. piercing, tattooing, branding, cutting, scarring, binding, prosthetics & implants,
suspension hooks, body painting, rubbing cuts & wounds with ashes, hand-pricking skin
to insert dyes
aesthetic enhancement - Correct Answers --BM, esp tattoos are connected to consumer
culture
to produce aesthetic enhancement of the body
have become important contemporary symbols of self-identity
-also related to commercial exploitation of sexual themes
like: sexual desirability vs. life-cycle transitions
-are optional, decorative, playful, ironic and narcissistic
are situated w/in uncertainties & anxieties of modern life
Practices & Meanings of Body Modification Today - Correct Answers -Remain contested
in a number of ways:
traditional tat community claim tsts stipped of their origins
from male working class & biker subcultures
-now palatable to white mainstream middle classes
as self-expression
as 'high art' forms - some see selves as art connoisseurs
Cultivation of art work
Meanings of Tattoos - Correct Answers -status, ranked and accomplishment
religious & spiritual devotion
decorative purposes, marks of beauty
rite of passage, memorialize a difficult life exp/survivorship
mark fertility, pledges of love, trust
MPS EXAM
physical deviance - Correct Answers -body differences often regarded aas signs of
moral failing
includes various "abominations of the body"
e.g. obesity, deformity, extensive tattooing, scaring
-can result in a spoied identity
results in stigmatization, lead to labels of "Other"
include mechanisms of informal social control - shunning
-some differences elicit sympathy -e.g. club fight
but, differences regarded as self-inflicted usually do not
result in "achieved stigma"
achieved stigma - Correct Answers --intential cultivation of a stigmatizing attribute
ind regarded by "normals" as "morally blameworthy"
-ind held in contempt for violating social body norms
-ind may be attributed a "master status" as a result
ind's body difference becomes primary identifying trait
may also be accorded auxiliary traits
e.g. sexual perversions, unstable personality, criminality
What are the 2 Types of Body Modification (BM)? - Correct Answers -i) tattooing - once
deviant, now normalized
(ii) non-mainstream body modification - currently deviant
some are forms of extreme deviance
both are examples of how the body is socially constructed,how cultural meanings are
inscribed on the body,expressed through the body, how the physical body is becoming
increasingly "plastic"
i.e. malleable & modified by culture
BM in traditional-non-western societies - Correct Answers --body markings are
permanent, obligatory, collective
part of shared culture of collective meanings
, inscribed during important rituals - e.g. rites of passage
-ensured stability of in-groups against outsifers
social membership expressed though marking the body
-significance of markings were unambiguous
designated economic, political & gender identities
kinship affiliation - who one could & could not marry
marked inds location in the group & life cycle
e.g. scarification of young men in Papua New Guinea
Practices & Meanings of Body Modification in industrialised/'post-modern' societies -
Correct Answers --1970e-rising incidence of body modification (BM) in NA, EU
Ex. piercing, tattooing, branding, cutting, scarring, binding, prosthetics & implants,
suspension hooks, body painting, rubbing cuts & wounds with ashes, hand-pricking skin
to insert dyes
aesthetic enhancement - Correct Answers --BM, esp tattoos are connected to consumer
culture
to produce aesthetic enhancement of the body
have become important contemporary symbols of self-identity
-also related to commercial exploitation of sexual themes
like: sexual desirability vs. life-cycle transitions
-are optional, decorative, playful, ironic and narcissistic
are situated w/in uncertainties & anxieties of modern life
Practices & Meanings of Body Modification Today - Correct Answers -Remain contested
in a number of ways:
traditional tat community claim tsts stipped of their origins
from male working class & biker subcultures
-now palatable to white mainstream middle classes
as self-expression
as 'high art' forms - some see selves as art connoisseurs
Cultivation of art work
Meanings of Tattoos - Correct Answers -status, ranked and accomplishment
religious & spiritual devotion
decorative purposes, marks of beauty
rite of passage, memorialize a difficult life exp/survivorship
mark fertility, pledges of love, trust
