Is it possible to demonstrate that a sociological analysis of the body and its varied states shed ‘light’ on the experiences of embodiment?

In revision to evaluate the extent in which sociological compend sheds light on the escort of embodiment it is essential that we first break d protest the meanings behind the question. The image of embodiment is derived from the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty, who arguedthat to the experience the world, we have to perceive it. the embodiment of the benignant being is fundamental. (cited in Reber & Reber 2001. p115).Reber & Reber (2001) go on to explain embodiment as the mode by which adult male beings practi expecty engage and interact with the world. The experience of having a carcass alters in relation to the particular condition, or state, of the body at any iodin time. These varied states bay window include differences in long or short-term wellness or, for example, whether the body is in pain or not at a particular time. Other states cigaret include miscellanea in age, or just altered states such as pregnancy.The sociological abstract of any pillow slip matter invo lves having the strength to trace links between the wider society and the lives of the individuals within it, having an awargonness of fond structures. In contrast to sociological theories argon those within the biological essentialist paradigm, whose explanations reduce the understanding of the body into terms of the physiological and absolute. This essay will attempt to illustrate the importance of the sociological explanation in understanding the body and its varied states, whilst highlighting the limitations of the to a greater extent essentialist approach.The health and illness of the gentleman body has traditionally been defined in terms of the biomedical model, which is based upon the reliance of scientific circumstances. The body is seen as a primarily biological entity thus ignoring external, environment factors, such as the family and the education system, shaping our bodies and minds. The idea that the mind and body atomic number 18 separate entities emanates from De scartes, dating back to the eighteenth century. A time, kn admit as the enlightenment, when societies would come to depend more and more on scientific and rational explanations at the expense of religious explanations. on that point was an apparent spark towards a more physiological and essentialist understanding of everyday life and a dramatic decline in more spiritual and less scientific explanations. Health and illness is traditionally described in a medical way. Pregnancy, for example, although a natural state for the womanly body, has undergone extreme medical intervention. Martin (1987) suggests that giving birth is in fact so medicalised that it butt be described as work done by the uterus. She goes on to create a convincing analogy between the job of having a baby and the ability of women as workers to resist their conditions.The essentialist argument is argued to be both narrow in its assumptions regarding the body and the individuals ability to have assoil will. The th eorists ignore the impact of external factors, arguing that all valet de chambre behaviour is innate and fixed. In raw times, largely due to a more sociological understanding of the mind and body, it is understood that they in fact work together much more closely than ever realised before, and thus the concept of mind-body dualism is introduced. gabardine (2002) argues that on the basis of empirical research sociologists demonstrate how the interactions of amicable class, power, gender and ethnicity enter into the formation of intimacy about the treatment of a sickness or disease. The neighborly production and dispersal of diseases and illnesses, illustrate how these varied states could be contrastively understood, treated and experienced by demonstrating how disease is produced out of social organisation sort of than nature, biology or individual lifestyle choices. White (2002) also suggests that our association of health and illness, the organisations of the professions w hich deal with it and our own responses to our tangible states are shaped and formed by the history of our society and our place in it. He criticises medical explanations, stating that they only serve to obscure, or completely cover, the social shaping and distribution of disease, disease categories and health services.Firstly we must consider more traditional sociological theories such as functionalism, nighly illustrated by Parsons concept of the sick eccentric, a social role that is shaped by the social res engages of neo society. The way is on how being ill must take a specific form in human societies in order that the social systems stability and cohesion can be maintained. Parsonian sociology emphasises the role of medicine in maintaining social harmony, pointing to the non-market basis of professional groups. Highlighting the social control of medicine in enforcing compliance with social roles in modern society.Marxist approaches emphasize the causal role of stintings in the production and distribution of disease, as well as the role of medical knowledge in sustaining the class structure. Marxists are bear on with the relationship between health and illness and capitalist social organisation.Feminists key argument is that the way in which we are socialized into masculine and feminine social roles will have a determining work on our health and illness. They argue that medicine plays a vital role in enforcing conformity because exacting womens ability to reproduce is central to a patriarchal society. Feminists argue that the majority of medical attention remunerative to women is around their reproductive organs and their life cycleMarxist-feminists identify the ways in which class and patriarchy interact to define the subordinate position of women in society and the central role that medical knowledge plays in defining women.In contrast to these more structural approaches the interactionists would argue the focus should be tell at the way illne ss is a social accomplishment between actors rather than merely a matter of physiological malfunction (Bilton et al 1997). Self-identity has become more fluid and negotiable, separated from social structures, which are often claimed to be just a figment of the sociological imagination. For some theorists the discovery of the body, linked to these gelded structures, has led to the argument that we reach our bodies as we see fit. White (2002) emphasises the openness of the body, and of the individuals that shape it.More new notions of the body have examined the cultural meanings placed upon it, desirable body size, weight and shape etc. there has been much sociological research into understanding the ideas behind the individuals concept of the self. Much of this work is revolving around bodily appearance and individual self-perception, labels given to us by others and ourselves. Tyler (1998) investigated the recruitment and training of female flight attendants, final that their w orkinvolved adhering to culturally prescribed norms on femininity as well as organisational regulations giving medication her figureFeminists reactions to the way in which medicine medicalises their bodies have raised crucial issues at the centre of sociological explanations of disease.Illnesses are not simply deviations from the bodys normal functioning, being ill can have a turn of meanings that extend beyond a simple biomedical one. Sontage (1991) shows how TB and AIDS have attached meanings, so that they become dirty and unclean illnesses that invade the body. People who suffer from such stigmatised illnesses may well change the way they view their bodies and their own self-identity is affected, thus an illustration of mind-body dualism.Goffman, a key interactionist, theory of the body can be summarised by 3 main features. Firstly, that you can view the body as a material, communicating entity, controlled by individuals in order to facilitate and direct social interaction. Sec ondly, the meanings attributed to the body are determined by shared vocabularies of non-verbal language, such as facial expression and dress, which are not under the immediate control of individuals but which nevertheless categorise and differentiate between people. Thirdly, the body mediates the relationship between peoples self-identity and their social identity, two quite different states. Consequently, these classifications greatly influence how individuals seek to manage their bodies and they way in which their bodies are perceived.In addition to its reflections on stinting, social and political changes in society postmodernism is characterised by a mistrust of science as the truth. Senior (1996) suggests that people are more accepting of their own understanding of the world. Post modernists claim that no single theory can explain such a wide variation of experiences. Power is of crucial concern, not only economic power but also in the form of language, or discourse. Knowledge of the body becomes power, possessors of this knowledge can exercise control over those without, for example the doctor/patient relationship.Foucault, an extreme social constructionist, highlights the social role of medical knowledge in controlling populations. Similarly to Parsons, Foucault emphasises the diverse nature of power relationships in modern society, describing the emergence of a dominant medical discourse, which has constructed definitions of normality and deviance. For Foucault modern societies are systems of organised care with individuals conducting the surveillance themselves, having internalised the professional models of what is appropriate behaviour.The usefulness of Foucaults position is the way in which he historically locates medical knowledge, especially in allowing for the development of the sociology of the body. By showing how the body is historically constructed, Foucault has been accepted and adapted by feminists, cognize as Foucauldian-feminisms, who show that it is in fact the construction of gender specific bodies that needs analysis.Okely (1993) writes a subjective account of her time spent at an all-girls boarding school, linking her experiences of class, gender and power inequalities, and the impact of these inequalities on the human body. She also refers to Mauss (1936) in her writings and the way in which it is discussed that different societies, groups and even forms of education make different uses of the body. These uses may and have often been documented to change over time and in individual variations.Mauss (1936) isolates iii factors that are involved in understanding the body those are social, psychological and biological (as cited in Okely 1993. p111). Okely (1993) duologue of her incessant attempts to convince the authorities, for example teachers, that she had internalised the institutions way of life, of being a lady however, her body often let her down. She goes on to recall that the minutest gesture coul d betray a lack of conviction, a failure of conversion (Okely 1993. p112).Children and adolescents are the most vulnerable to these outside influences, which often permanently shape their minds and bodies. Okely cited a former resident that had attempted to train to become an opera singer, but who could not breath deeply enough. She believed this to be due to a constant requirement to stand tall and firm, therefore, leading the chest to become too rigidly encased. The girl manifestly saw a connection with her education and her bodily state.In an attempt to draw attention to the social and individual impact of merely wearing a badge on the left or reclaim side of your uniform, Okely highlights that in many cultures the right and left sides of the body, for example the hands, are used to represent emblematical and social oppositions.the right is given pre-eminence and may be associated with order, legitimacy and the male while the left can be associated with disorder, disruptive fo rces and the female (Hertz 1960 as cited by Okely 1993. p115.)In an effort to transform society, social constructionists ineluctably raise questions about the past and the future, as they call into question prevailing ideological frameworks. Social constructionist approaches call attention to the paradox between the historically variable ways in which culture and society construct seemingly stable reality.Social constructionist theory suggests that sexuality is a fluid and changeable entity, the product of human action and history rather than the result of the body, biology or an innate sex drive, as essentialism would suggest. Vance (1994) in her research into female sexuality, which can also be seen as a varied state, uses the example of female circumcision. She illustrates that social constructionists have not ignored the body, its function and physiology, and still in fact have the ability to incorporate the body with its theory without returning to essentialism.From a sociolog ical perspective, biology is by no operator the overriding factor in the development of a disease. Rather, as White (2002) suggests, it is the prevailing social and economic conditions that allow a disease to develop which must be accounted for. Furthermoregiven that germs do not speak for themselves, it is our interpretation of events that leads some conditions to be categorised as diseases. (White 2002. p12)But to what extent has the sociological analysis of the body and its varied states shed light on the experiences of embodiment? It is clear from the brief evidence summarised above and the indicant available on the subject that the essentialist explanation of the body in incomplete. As with any aspect of human society the impact of the relationship between the individual and his/her surroundings must be taken into consideration. There is much work to be undertaken in this area of study and many more links, or dualisms, to be uncovered.