Draft:Do the ways individuals work on their bodies today reflect increased agency to pursue individual body projects, or do they indicate there is more pressure to comply with ideals related to appearance in contemporary society

‘Do the ways individuals work on their bodies today reflect increased agency to pursue individual body projects, or do they indicate there is more pressure to comply with ideals related to appearance in contemporary society?

Throughout history there has been an ever-changing concept of the ‘ideal body’ in society. The concept of “body projects” has been defined by few, Shillings idea of it entails ‘In the West there is a tendency for the body to be seen as an entity in the process of becoming; a project to be worked at and accomplished as part of an individual’s self-identity’ (Shilling, 2012: 6) Despite the two sides of the question, there is the fact that ‘individuals’ is a very confining word meant to encompass a diverse range of bodies and experiences, relevant here to body projects. Individuals may do body work for a variety of reasons such as: for their own enjoyment, for confidence, for expression, or to feel healthier. However, some may use body work to fit in with certain standards/ideals: doing so to help insecurities, to conform to religious standards or to conform to gender stereotypes. When tackling any aspect of body modification, we must first address perception of the body. This is an issue that has plagued mankind for millennia. The foundations of such can be found in early human societies. The methods in which humans modify bodies is elaborate and complex. As there are shared ideas and modifications, but the means of doing so is seemingly for distinction. Adornment of the body is a clear means for those in social groups to distinguish themselves, regardless of the motives behind it. Traditionally modifications were reserved for select individuals to denote status, achievement or even possibly punishment. These markers were exactly that, they are an effective way to make a greater statement about oneself to the world at large around them. Here we can find answers to early human and ethnographic differences in archaeology and anthropology, which through further reading, demonstrates how familiar we are as human beings with questions of the self, the body and identity. (Mina, 2016)

Individuals’ agency to pursue Body Projects Identity plays a key role in this, and as individualism increases so seemingly does modification. There are larger social standards one could conform to, for the sake of fitting in or seeming as attractive as possible. However, collective identity is reserved for certain moments and not necessarily something. Individuals can have much control over, as it would be harder for huge numbers of people to all wishes to conform to the same thing in terms of presenting or altering themselves, for fear of losing their sense of self. The person they believe they are. If people's appearances were monitored or controlled for them, some could argue it would ease social anxieties, like for example school uniforms are designed to create an illusion that all students who wear it are equal. This illusion is not inherently bad, as it serves the purpose of uniting all those who wear it to some unspoken bond or loyalty, it spurs rivalries with the ‘other’ (students in different schools). Tattoos could be a suggested way of individualisation. Because all tattoos are different and have their own meaning or aesthetic look. However, it could be argued tattoos have been in the past and now been used to specifically group people together such as Māori culture and Yakuza gangs. For the Māori their tattoos reflect their ancestry and personal history, in earlier time it represented social rank, knowledge, skill and eligibility to marry. (New Zealand, No date)

(New Zealand, No Date)

However, what make us have increased agency now? People have always had the same amount of agency, but as we get older in life we now have more means to exchange the means in agency. We make decisions every day menial or life changing decisions everyday all acts of agency, due to access to means such as cosmetic surgery, gyms, piercing studios and more, we are allowed to use out agency to express ourselves through these resources. However, it could be argued that using those resources could be subconsciously influenced through the ideals and standards in society we feel we need to comply with. Additionally, one relevant example would be the circumcision of young Jewish boys 8 days after birth as it is a representation of the covenant between God and Abraham, God promised Abraham the holy land in exchange for the circumcision of himself and every Jewish boy born. (NIH, 2013 The Cosmetic surgery industry The first cosmetic procedures were performed around the 16th century to fix disfigurements. Furthermore, ‘In 1962 Timme Jean Lindsey became the first woman in the world to receive a breast enlargement using silicone implants.’ (CSS, 2020) Since 1962 there has been an increasing spike on the demand and use of cosmetic surgery in countries all over the world, with 31,057 cosmetic procedures taking place in 2022. (BAAPS, 2023) Additionally South Korea is the country with the highest rate of plastic surgery with an approximation of 1 in 5, and women being the largest demographic in having plastic surgery, followed by Greece and Italy. The most popular surgeries had in South Korea are Rhinoplasty; liposuction; and blepharoplasty. (World Population Review, 2023) This is somewhat unsurprising as in South Korea they have very strict ideals for men and women. Including slim body shape; small V-shaped face; double eyelids (links to high demand of blepharoplasty); high bridged pointed nose (links to high demand of rhinoplasty); plump lips; fair and pale skin. (Sheiwen Aglibot, 2023) Woman account for 92% of all cosmetic procedures and men making up the remaining 8% (Harley clinic, 2019) One questions the benefits and outcomes women achieve when deemed “attractive” or desired socially. On the other hand, what also needs to be taken into consideration is, how do women suffer when they are not seen as attractive?

The idealised ‘perfect body’ we see is propagated by cultural ingrained beauty ideals and then circulated en masse through the ever-expanding media outlets, creating the protocol for how to view women in how it shames or applauds them and young girls for their bodies. The media has proven to shame women for being pregnant and having baby weight, for ageing (wrinkles), for being anything bigger than a US 2, for eating and so much less. The constant sources of media discussing what a woman should be or look like, causes many women who do not match this certain body type, to thusly modify her body to comply with these ever-fluctuating standards.

A paper by Woo Keong Ja explores how the appearance-oriented ideology and cosmetic surgery technology has re-institutionalised the importance of women’s appearance. Similarly, patriarchy has a continuous control of many aspects of life in majority of countries, 153 countries to be precise, this involves laws “Where husbands can legally prevent their wives from working.” (OXFAM, 2023) Keong Ja discusses how “Cosmetic surgery technology promises women power, pleasure, and freedom, but within the boundaries set by their appearances.” Woo Keong Ja references Naomi Wolf in her paper, “The beauty myth has nothing to do with women and everything to do with masculine institution and institutional power.” The beauty standards for women are derived from the typical male’s view of an ideal woman. The long-valued ideas of motherhood, nurturing role and chastity are not as wanted in a woman as much as looks and sexual power have. Correlating to Wolfs Beauty myth where she highlights how many women would choose to get plastic surgery overachieving any other goals, women in south Korea are choosing to fit to the beauty standards over anything else, only allowing their pleasure and power to come from how they look. The cosmetic surgery industry all over the world feeds into women’s insecurities to help capitalism. The south Korean cosmetic market is estimated to be valued around one trillion won (847 million dollars) To summarise, the beauty standards have consistently changed over time, hand in hand with the growing cosmetic industry leading to many getting plastic surgery to achieve these ideals. Whilst men are victims to their own standards, women have been the greater target for this for an extended amount of time and to a harsher extent. Women’s worth being determined by the male gaze purely based on how they look is continuing to feed into women’s insecurities, only furthering the growth of the cosmetic industry.

Naomi wolf: The Beauty Myth Throughout her book she “exposes the tyranny of the beauty myth through the ages and its oppressive function today, in the home and at work, in literature and the media, in relationships between men and women, between women and women.” Whilst encouragingly exposing the beauty industry.

“During the past 5 years, consumer spending doubled, pornography became the main media category, ahead of legitimate films and records combined, and thirty-three thousand American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal.” 

One of the earlier statements in Naomi Wolfs ‘The beauty Myth’, incredibly demonstrates just how important it is to women and how much desperation there is to fit the beauty standards around them, that they are more than willing to give up their own personal goals simply for the sake of being skinnier. Today, women have more financial, political, and social agency. The power we have over our appearance and our bodies has no doubt increased, despite this women's rights are still highly contested and restricted by some of the oldest institutions of mankind and society that unfortunately have misogyny woven into their foundations. For women, the constant battle for equality, right to vote, right to drive, right to choose what they do with their own bodies is still now a fight waiting to be won. Underneath this greater issue, is the effects of standardised beauty and gender expectations, where women’s worth is often equated to a biological capital, whereas the pressure for men is less appearance based but rather financial. When men modify their appearance, they are met with less scrutiny, a conclusion larger based on the statistics for cosmetic surgeries. While memberships to gyms is much more equal, the assumptions surrounding this reflect a woman's desire to lose weight, whilst men are presumably going to build muscle it is seen as less vain and rather as a good habit connected to mental and physical health benefits. The current powerful industries in our societies, “$33-billion-a-year diet industry, the $20-billion cosmetic industry, the $300-million cosmetic surgery industry, and the $7-billion pornography industry” The beauty myth was released in 1990 which means these industries have only since grown. The main point Naomi Wolf makes in The Beauty Myth is the that the social power of women has increased but the increase of women feeling the need to comply with the unrealistic social standards has grown because of media influences and patriarchal values. Conclusion To summarise, I think individuals are subconsciously influenced to look a certain way, which reflects deeper insecurities and anxieties around rejection. In looking friendly or familiar, i.e., conforming to beauty standards being pushed at any given time, one is more likely to find themselves desired by others, solidifying their place in social environments. In appealing to as many ‘beautiful’ features cross culturally, or too as many of those relevant to one society particular ideals of beauty, an individual can secure by bodily means, their acceptance. This may not be done in an extreme measure by using cosmetic surgery, but just simply how we influenced via online media to keep up to date on the current fashion trends. The beauty ideals also being spread to public sphere of workplaces has caused a lot of controversy, the biggest being the Abercrombie and Fitch scandal revolving who they were hiring. The CEO of the business made multiple comments such as “We go after the attractive, all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends,” and "A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes] and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely." Giving many elitist views some would argue. (NPR, 2023) Due to the ever-growing technology we are developing new norms of cosmetic surgery and body projects in societies. There is an increase of pressure for individuals to comply with the social standards set, for both men and women however the ideals weigh heavier for women. The societal ideals we hold are continuing to limit our individual agency.

References

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