Body as Material Culture
(University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Women’s and girls’ bodies have often been caught in the crossfire between patriarchal influences and political economy. These influences, once inscribed on the body, become written in the bones and thus can be studied in past and historical populations. In this paper, I examine prevalent body modifications across cultures that are couched in ideas of gender and political correctness: the neck rings of the Kayan, Chinese foot binding, Victorian corsets. The alterations on the body have far reaching effects that extend beyond the personal—body image and physical pain—to global&madash;tourism, fashion, and even reproductive health. Women’s bodies thus become commodities in the market of material culture. It would be significant to see how present day practices help shape this framework.