In this blog I would like to explore a myriad of topics, including but not limited to: manipulation of the body, body modification, judgement of the body by ourselves and by others, and the structures that create those predispositions.
I want to further research questions about plastic surgery, body dysmorphia, and the way the body is constructed online and in social media. Why and how are we taught the ‘correct’ way to maintain and create our bodies? Are we moving away from the natural arrangement of our facial features and what are the implications of that? Are we progressing towards Suzanne Collins-esque trends of body modification? What does it mean to not recognize your body?
Self-harm and the corresponding communities on the internet as well as the concept of “meanspo” in certain online circles and the purposeful punishment of the body are more specific topics that I find very interesting. What is the function of presenting one’s body specifically for negative critique? What does it mean for psychological pain to mainfest physically and do different forms of self-harm have different representations/connotations?
I would also like to explore the role of the body in the horror genre, and more specifically the “body horror” subgenre. What makes violations of the flesh so terrifying? What transformations of the body are considered artistic versus grotesque?
These questions arise from my previous experience in medical anthropology as well as personal experiences. I expect to draw from an extensive range of media from varying disciplines and corners of the internet and I hope to gain a time to reflect about my own relationship with my body as I critique others. – Elizabeth Todd
“The terrain of the body is changing…We may well be the last generation to inhabit bodies that are familiar to us.” -Susie Orbach
The Body and Manipulation 