governmental neglect.
Ghanaian women who have ended cutting see it as unworthy of blood loss, saying that they can no longer afford to lose blood due to their lack of access to life-sustaining resources. The social realities of precarity in their lives are stark: they have little access to education and no living-wage jobs, they suffer from food shortages, drought and climate change, their livelihoods are always at risk. Their bodily survival and the survival of their children are imperilled by pervasive anaemia, lack of health and healthcare, and high maternal mortality and infant and child mortality rates. These social inequalities have local, national and transnational dimensions, and are rooted in histories of dispossession and labour exploitation. Thus, while Ghanaian women who have ended cutting do not regret the loss of this practice, they want more for their future, including ending inequality and improving conditions for their communities.
From punitive law and carceral feminism to a lived critique of criminalization The term ‘carceral feminism’ critically evaluates feminist advocacy for responding to women’s rights violations and gender-based violence with punitive law enforcement. In Ghana and elsewhere, feminist NGOs and legal activists criminalized female genital cutting and advocated for long prison sentences. The Twilight shows that NGO workers and civil servants tasked with enforcing the law were initially enthusiastic about it, but soon came to see the prison sentences given to circumcisers as unjust and as betraying the law’s purpose. As a result, they found themselves at an impasse: while some modified the application of the law to suit their purposes, others experienced it as an unresolved ethical conundrum. While in no way unaware of the difficult position these Ghanaians find themselves in or of the systemic issues that underlie it, The Twilight shows that something remarkable happens in Ghana but not in the global North (including countries such as the UK, Sweden, the US and Australia): Ghanaians are able to curb the excesses of criminalizing the most marginalized citizens and migrants.
Conclusion
Bodies are socially constructed in different ways across different cultures. Human bodies transmit complex information about themselves even within a single cultural context, and the message of the body is subject to change over time. The body is a form of communication, whether permanent – through tattoos, scarification, piercing or plastic surgery – or temporary – via make-up, clothing or hairstyles. All these body modifications convey information about a person’s identity. Many forms of body modification are associated with initiation or marriage, marking the transition from one status to another. There are many ways in which humans attempt to control and modify the body. These are universal, but they are also diverse. The body therefore is a symbol of culture in that it ‘performs’ or represents the culture of an individual. The ways that humans are able to place value on the body or control it are becoming ever more complex through technological advances.
End-of-chapter questions
Outline ways in which the human body both shapes and is shaped by sociocultural, historical and political processes.
How is the ‘body’ culturally constructed?
How are bodies experienced differently in different societies?
Identify and critically evaluate key questions and theoretical approaches used in the anthropological study of the body.
Should there be limits to the extent to which medical technologies transform the body?
What knowledge can be gained about a culture through an examination of body adornments?
How does society ‘create’ and assign value to the physical body, its gender, birth and death?
Key terms
agency The capacity for human beings to make choices, create their own world, have their own ideas, etc.
body-branding Branding involves burning the skin with hot or cold instruments to produce a permanent design. It is often used to express ownership of other humans
body modification The deliberate altering of the human anatomy
colourism Prejudice involving the preferential treatment of people with light skin within and between ethnic groups
embodiment A tangible or visible form of an idea, quality or feeling
habitus The lifestyle, values, dispositions and expectations of particular social groups that are acquired through the activities and experiences of everyday life
handedness A preference for using one hand as opposed to the other
Social construction The view that the phenomena of the social and cultural world and their meanings are created in human social interaction
taboo A custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place or thing
tattoo A permanent mark or design made on the skin by a process of pricking and ingraining an indelible pigment or by raising scars
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
Find and join a martial arts class – Judo, Karate, Kung Fu, Thai Chi, Taekwondo, etc. The following are issues to address in your research:
Social and cultural aspects of the body: Most martial arts originate from East Asia. Look into the historical background to your chosen martial art and explain how it offers an insight into how the cultures of China, Japan and Korea have developed the martial arts as a way of training and mastering the body.
Attitudes towards the body (what’s important in society – e.g., gender, size): The body is central to the martial arts. Martial artists develop their bodies to the extent that they can be used as a weapon. Strength and ability to do extraordinary tasks are respected by these cultures. However, the martial arts masters also emphasize that mental attitude is vital. There is an important relationship between the mind and body in becoming a martial arts expert.
The body as a symbol: expression of identity (individual or part of a group) and communication: The martial arts body is an important source of identity for those who practise martial arts. By performing and showing what they have been able to do with their bodies, they manage to achieve a certain status. The martial arts body can communicate strength and ability to defend itself against those who threaten it.
Controlling the body: self-control, discipline: Through years of hard work, the individual can do what may be considered almost ‘superhuman’ feats with the body. This is exemplified by Shaolin monks, who perform extraordinary body feats. Their bodies are able to endure pain through constant exposure to it – e.g., putting their hands in hot sand or banging them against hard surfaces. The work to become a martial artist requires incredible self-discipline. It shows how human beings are able to overcome many biological disadvantages through what are essentially cultural practices. There is no practical reason today to develop the body’s ability to such an extent. The motivation is more to do with self-esteem and self-satisfaction and social status. It may also relate to economic motives – martial artists can earn money through their performances. The control of the body therefore comes from the individual and their own motivation, as well as cultural pressures.
Society’s control of the body: The martial arts appear to be mainly about the individual’s own identity. Martial arts training is not forced on anyone. However, aside from martial arts, many men and women may feel the pressure of society to gain respect by developing the body. This can be seen especially in concern over the shape of the muscular body.
Suggested further sources