Cultural Body Enhancement and Body Shaming: An Embodied Experience of Health and Illness

This report highlights the concept of cultural body enhancement and body shaming, and the issues related to health and illness, representations of bodies in art or media, and various forms of regulation or social control over the bodies of an individual. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and respecting different cultures and traditions, and the negative impact of body shaming on mental and physical health.

CW2 Written Project Case
Study

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Body shaming refers to the act of having negative perception about someone body. It can
be in nay form such as person's hair , age , clothes , weight etc. In the current society it is
observed that thin bodies are better and more attractive according to the fat and healthier bodies.
It is observed that in various places people are discriminated if they have fat bodies. In addition
to this it is also important to know the reason behind before making fun of the people.
Furthermore ,no only fat women but being too skinny is also body shammed many times. People
can be body shamed because of weight , body hair , attractiveness, food , clothing, age etc. It is
also important to understand that every person come form different background and have
different cultures so it is very necessary to respect and understand the traditions and lifestyle
people follow(McMahon, and et.al., 2021). The present report highlights the various concepts of
cultural body enhancement and body shaming and also to address the various issues related to
health and illness, representations of bodies in art or media and various form of regulation or
social control over the bodies of an individual.
MAIN BODY
Concept of cultures of body enhancement and body shaming
Body modifications occurs across the world in various other forms and can be because of
various reasons and includes the nose piercing that is connected with Hinduism. Tattooing in
South east Asia and Middle east etc. In the modern western culture , there are various body
modifications and is generally considered as the personal preferences of the person but in
various cultures it is observed that body modifications is expected to the part of the
society(Schlüter, and et.al., 2021). For example piercing or may be body piercing are mostly
common form of body modification in the West.
The other issue that is faced by people that is body shaming. It is defined as the act of
passing negative comments regarding weight, age, colour etc. It is observed that people are body
shammed of being fat but body shaming is not just limited to fat shaming but it also involves
thinness , height, skin , hair etc. Furthermore, it is also observed that people with disabilities are
more often being body shamed and bullied by their friends and sometimes relatives . But it is
very necessary to understand the problems and reasons of such disability. In the present era, it is

seen that girls are more body shammed according to the boys. For example , acne is considered
to be due to poor hygiene, people who are overweight etc. It is also stated that body image is
particularly very sensitive matter for a person who is body shamed. If as person is negatively
body shammed or suffers form negative comments affects their mental and physical health. Most
of the time people avoid such negative responses but affects there mental health in the end. It can
also result into social anxiety, depression which can develop more problems that can affect their
health(Fitria, and Febrianti, 2020). It is very necessary to understand that being body shammed
will have negative impact on the mental and physical health of the people so it is necessary to
give priority to one own body and be confident on who you are. It depends upon the person what
they can do in order to avoid such things and concentrate to make improvements. People who are
fat face various issues and negative comments form the society and are also sometimes
discriminate from being different among the people.
In various countries body modification is considered as the part of the society and culture
and in the history many people have made modifications in their bodies. In various culture
around the world it has been observed that social status and wealth is advertised with expensive
jewellery and have different and deep meaning regarding the tattoos and scars that they have.
For example it has been observed in African culture that rites of passage is completed and are
denoted by the scarrings all over the face and body that was practised by their elder or religious
leaders and they are bound to follow the cultures of their society(Saxena, and et.al., 2020). It is
said that it is the misconception of the people that piercing is recent trend or fashion but it is
common in most of the cultures which is followed form the history. The nostril piercing is
followed in the Middle East and has continued its trend in India.
Presenting the three issues that is related to body shaming
It has been observed that adolescence is that period that is related to the physiological, emotional
and various social changes that results in to greater concern for physical appearance of the
person. Body image refers to the perception associated with the physical self and the feeling.
Every person is trying to accept who they are but on the other hand face lot of pressure form the
social media and also the negative comments that put stress on the person which directly affects
their mental and physical health. Many people suffer or undergo serious illness and health
disease which results into some for the negative impacts on the body. This can be a major issue
which results into body shaming as people do not understand or concern the reason behind which

leads to body shaming. In the present era body shaming is most common among teenagers and
young adults as they don not follow healthy diet and due to unhealthy habits that causes
numerous problems and health issues. In order to overcome the issue and reduce the negative
impact on the body it is very important to surround yourself with the people who promotes the
body positively. On the other hand it is important to gain self confidence and self acceptance that
is very important for the person(Wiltsey Stirman, Baumann, and Miller, 2019.). It is not
necessary that positive body mean to have perfect figure but to develop self confidence. On the
other hand it depends upon the person to make required changes and efforts to keep the body
healthy by taking healthy diets and avoid the unhealthy habits that can become root cause of all
the problems.
The social construction of health is very important in the medical sociology .Various
medical sociological believes the illness whether it is mental or physical have both biological
and an experimental component. It is also observed that the idea of social construction of the
illness experience is based on the concept of reality as a social construction. In the present era ,
the people living in the community have the perception and are discriminated among the girls
having fit bodies(Cassidy, 2019). Fat or body shaming in not only considered as negative
comment on the on the fat women but it is an emotional, mental and physiological exploitation.
It is the perception of the people in society that body size and appearance give the role and
importance in the society. Every culture and society has different culture and standards for
beauty But there are many myths that is prevailing in the society that exist for women and
thinness is one of the thing that pressurize the women to look beautiful.
The representation of the body has always been present through all the mediums related
to the history, science, art and technology. The human body has been a source of enduring
fascination to the artist across time, geography and culture. Various artists and art historians
began to investigate in the western art and media in order to perpetualise the idealisation of the
female form. On the other hand the feminist artist reclaimed the female body and also depicted it
through various ways(Devonport, and et.al., 2019). The body was another medium with which
the artist has created their work in the ancient times. In the current time , the images of the
women that is presented in mass media are always thin. The body representation in art serves as
the representation of its creator's social as well as religious standards . It also creates cultural
values and also indicates absolute beauty. But on the other hand in the present times these are

considered as body shaming rather than an art. In the ancient times art was considered as the
ways to indicating certain moral values but today in many areas this culture is being followed.
Social control is defined as the concept within the disciplines of the social sciences and is
defined as the set of rules and standards in the society that keep the person bound to follow it. It
simply means the control of society on the individual. It also refers to regulate the human
behaviour and the form can be defined as the formal and informal social control(Heim, and
Kohrt, 2019). The formal control is in the written form and are official, such as in the cases of
laws. In addition to this informal controls are the unwritten such in traditions, values and norms.
Generally the formal social control is based upon the law and it is necessary to comply with the
norms. The laws related to Human rights highlights the provisions related to the discrimination
on the basis of age, caste , disability and gender. The regulations and rules imposed by the
government are included in the social control. Furthermore, medical social control refers to the
ways in which the medical performs it functions and adhere to the social norms as well. There
are various penalties that is impose by the government for body shaming an individual.
Furthermore, it is the right of the person to follow their cultures and traditions. It is very
necessary for the various forms of the social control to revive back the behaviour of the sick
person or an individual suffering from the mental of physical illness(Umaña-Taylor, 2018).
Moreover, social control in medicine relates to the medical services and information related to
the medical. It is very necessary to understand the present state of an individual who has suffered
the trauma and find ways to reduce those problems. Furthermore various social bodies are
incorporated which promotes the self love and confidence and encourage those people who are
body shamed which include fat , thin girls etc. It was also observed that in one of the
international pageants Miss UK handed over her crown after she was body shamed to be to fat
for being the contestant of the international pageants and later claimed that the pageants always
discriminate against the contestants based on the size and promotes the slim women and body
shamed the fat women.
Body shaming has become a vary serious issue in the society. With increase in the scope
of social media where the celebrities are models are seeing to have perfect bodies and by seeing
this people became more aware and conscious(Barber, and et.al., 2018.) . But in spite of all these
efforts people face body shaming as negative comments are passed regarding their weight ,
height, appearance etc. It has been observed that various people are discriminated based on their

size and all these affects their metal and physical health. Under the Equality Act 2010, if the
person has treated unfairly discriminates on the basis of religion, caste , age is liable for
punishment according o the provisions of the act. Despite of the strict laws and regulation people
are body shamed based on their weight, appearance that have negative impact on the
people(Oakley, 2019). In addition to this every person belong to different culture and standards
and are bound to follow those cultures. Body modification will be there as from the ancient times
the culture and tradition is being followed but many people as opted it as a fashion such as
piercing etc. It is important to understand the person rather than body shaming as it can affect its
mental and physical health which can have long term impact on their health that can affect its
life. Apart from this it is very necessary to change the thinking of the society as thy think that
slim people are more attractive than fat people. But it is also important to have self- confidence
what what they are and love as they are(Darwin, and Miller, 2021). Moreover, it is important to
understand and accept about the one's own appearance which is very necessary for the mental
health. In addition to this rather than stressing over and affect the mental health it is more
important to work on those areas which will help to keep ourself happy and confident about
yourself. People will not stop disrespecting but it depends on the person to have confidence that
will have positive impact on their physical and mental health.
It has been observed that in order to spread the body positivity the anti body movement
has introduced in order to shape the and also increase the body positivity. It is very necessary to
take a step in the direction of altering the appearance based on prejudice and biases. On the other
hand it is important to support and respect the cultural and beliefs followed by people but it
should not be forcefully imposed on the person. It is on the discretion of that person whether to
follow those cultures or not. It is also necessary for the people living in the society to understand
various aspects before fat shaming people as they are only aware about the problems they are
facing or they have faced as it can deeply hurt the sentiments and also can affect their mental and
physical health(Flak, 2021). It is necessary to identify the issues that can have negative impact
on the people and also results in various health problems they face regarding their health and in
the society.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that it is very necessary to understand the
culture and traditions and also respect those beliefs. The report summarize the concept of
cultural body enhancement and body shaming that refer to the act of passing negative comments
regarding the weight, appearance .This type of act affects their mental and physical health which
also results into depression and anxiety among the person. In addition to this, there are various
body modifications and is generally considered as the personal preferences of the person but in
various cultures it is observed that body modifications is expected to the part of the society.
Various issues have been highlights regarding the embodied experience of the health and
illness. Apart from this not only fat people are body shamed but person with disabilities are also
bullied at the workplace. Although carious provisions have been made under the employment
law which highlights the various regulation regarding discrimination at workplace. Furthermore
the report also summarize the representation of the bodies that refers art that serves as the
representation of its creator's social as well as religious standards. The report also discuss the
forms of social control which refers as the concept within the disciplines of the social sciences
and and simply means the control of society on the person. It means regulating the human
behaviour and the form can be defined as the formal and informal social control.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Barber, and et.al., 2018. Research on human subjects: Problems of social control in medical
experimentation. Routledge.
Cassidy, L., 2019. Body shaming in the era of social media. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on
Shame: Methods, Theories, Norms, Cultures, and Politics. Lanham, MD: Lexington
Books, pp.157-176.
Darwin, H. and Miller, A., 2021. Factions, frames, and postfeminism (s) in the Body Positive
Movement. Feminist Media Studies. 21(6). pp.873-890.
Devonport, and et.al., 2019. Gendered performances and identity construction among UK
female soccer players and netballers: a comparative study. Sport in Society. 22(7).
pp.1131-1147.
Fitria, K. and Febrianti, Y., 2020. The Interpretation And Attitude Of Body Shaming Behavior
On Social Media (A Digital Ethnography Study On Instagram). Diakom: Jurnal Media
dan Komunikasi. 3(1). pp.12-25.
Flak, S.R., 2021. The influence of maternal body-shaming comments and bodily shame on
portion size (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida).
Heim, E. and Kohrt, B.A., 2019. Cultural adaptation of scalable psychological
interventions. Clinical Psychology in Europe. 1(4). pp.1-22.
McMahon, and et.al., 2021. Body shaming and associated practices as abuse: athlete entourage
as perpetrators of abuse. Sport, Education and Society, pp.1-14.
Oakley, A., 2019. Essays on women, medicine & health. Edinburgh University Press.
Saxena, and et.al., 2020. Body shaming, emotional expressivity, and life orientation among
young adults. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research.
Schlüter, and et.al., 2021. Body Shaming: an Exploratory Study on its Definition and
Classification. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, pp.1-12.
Umaña-Taylor, A.J., 2018. Intervening in cultural development: The case of ethnic–racial
identity. Development and psychopathology. 30(5). pp.1907-1922.
Wiltsey Stirman, S., Baumann, A.A. and Miller, C.J., 2019. The FRAME: an expanded
framework for reporting adaptations and modifications to evidence-based
interventions. Implementation Science. 14(1). pp.1-10.
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Online references
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