Feminism by Sally J. Scholz

Author:Sally J. Scholz [Scholz, Sally J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781780741550
Publisher: Oneworld Publications

Embodiment

Looking back over this chapter, one of the aspects of life that is most clearly central in second wave feminism is how a person lives in a body. Philosophers call this embodiment. Second wave feminists broke new ground in identifying the causes and effects of things like eating disorders, female sexuality, sexual violence, standards of beauty, and even bodily comportment. In Chapter 7 I discuss some of these topics within each of the different waves of feminism in order to illustrate the different approaches and methods. Here, I offer some thoughts about embodiment in general and its place within second wave feminist concerns.

In a way, embodiment has its roots in an age-old philosophical problem: the relationship between the mind and the body. René Descartes famously examined this problem in the sixteenth century. According to Descartes, the body is a mere machine that is animated by the rational mind. Mind and body are two different sorts of substances – the mind is non-extended substance and the body is extended substance (it takes up space). Even in his own time, though, Descartes faced the problem of how to explain the interaction between mind and body. How, in other words, could something that does not take up space have any sort of impact on something that does? Subsequent philosophers have tackled the question and offered a wide variety of explanations. Although those accounts usually fall under the umbrella of the philosophy of mind, some feminist explanations have a distinct place in social philosophy.

Embodiment as a feminist concept pertains to how one lives one’s body. Given that women’s bodies are often the subject of much social control as well as the focus of uniquely female contributions to society, embodiment is the subject of both critique and positive theory construction.

Some feminists use embodiment as a way to critique social expectations of women. Eating disorders and plastic surgery, for instance, have both been presented by some feminists as resulting from women’s alienation from their bodies. When society sends more or less consistent messages about what constitutes the ideal body or even the ‘normal’ body for women and men, then deviations from those norms may cause an individual to view her or his body as foreign or even the enemy. In an effort to seek control over this alien force, a person may resort to extreme measures such as life-threatening starvation or surgery. Notice how this conception of the body as alien or ‘other’ appropriates Beauvoir’s conception of otherness. The Other is a threat that one seeks to control.

In a similar way, the body might inspire shame. As Beauvoir argued, menstruation has been mythologized in such a way that its onset might cause a young woman shame at being subject to the forces of nature. Patriarchal standards of feminine comportment might also contribute to shame of the body. A leering gaze or catcall might cause a woman to hide her breasts and legs, covering her body to avoid being objectified or reduced to its parts.

Of course, not

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