The Civilized Body

NORBERT ELIAS: The Social History of Bodily Conduct and the Civilized Body

• The human body is simultaneously a social and biological entity
• human body conduct is a process of social and historical forces which become ingrained in CULTURE and internalized in the individual (INTERNALIZED CONTROLS)
• 11th century: emphasis toward a more "mannered", structured bodily pattern of conduct (Western Culture)
• CIVILIZED is...
• self-discipline
• restraint
• degree of pacification in social interactions
• conceals rhythms
• exercises emotional restraint
• control over bodily impulses
• tamed aggression of masculinity (inner restraint as social status rather than violence as prowess)
• concealment of disgust
• control and management of bodily functions, rhythms, products and noises
• internalized shame and embarrassment
• children learn to become aware of their bodies and conceal their functions
• linked to intensification of distinction between PUBLIC and PRIVATE spaces
• civilized habits (TECHNIQUES OF THE BODY) refer to a full renege of manners of daily life in Western contemporary societies
• managed through INTERNAL RESTRAINTS over time

DO YOU SEE ANY WAYS THAT THESE HABITS HAVE CHANGED GENERATIONALLY?

 1. INTERNALIZED RESTRAINT

• shifted from external (restraint by others) to INTERNAL (self-restraint)
• accompanied by a higher threshold of shame and embarrassment
• acts are refrained from even discussion in public
• SLEEP and SEx (relegated to the private sphere and made more and more individualized)
• governed by codes of privacy, heterosexuality and modesty
• shame and embarrassment if transgressed
• CIVILIZING BODILY WASTE
• social management of disposal of bodily waste
• outhouses are now IN
• part of capitalism and individualization of body management
• required to subordinate their bodies to the formal regime
• children learn restraint rules in school (public sphere)

BATHROOM HUMOR (violation)

• GENDER AND RESTRAINT

• modern obsession with GERMS (more on this later)
• spatial reorganization based on gender
• women need more time but there are fewer facilities for them
• modesty rules for women
• clothing/makeup requirements
• toilette ettiquette
• teach techniques for concealing and managing bodily functions but TOILET TRAINING is a fraught process

 2.  INDIVIDUALIZATION (Bounded Self)third aspect of the civilizing process is the change in consciousness, so that people are much more aware of themselves as individuals

• creating and maintaining BOUNDARIES becomes important
• body becomes an armor or shield used to EXPRESS or expertly PROTECT oneself.
• each person has a discrete self encased body

TABLE MANNERS AND SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS

after the middle ages, laws were put in place to protect people from over-indulging during times when food was scarce.Over time, these became more detailed in respect to attitudes and meaning about food and the manner in which they should be eaten.

•   value food for DELICACY and ELEGANCE
• development of UTENSILS for eating
• eating with your hands as undignified and unrefined

• DINING OUT as an example of the ritualization of these manners
• restaurant conduct entails activities that are both stylized and ritualized
• stifles emotion 

  3. EMOTIONAL RESTRAINT

emphasis on increasing control of the expression of emotions and physical gestures toward others

• How? (Elias)
• diminution of displays of aggression
• attention and ability to discerning the thoughts and feelings of others , which are increasingly hidden behind the "mask' of politeness

THE BODY AS A NATURAL SYMBOL

• MATTER OUT-OF-PLACE
• Mary Douglass (Purity and Danger)
• Douglas views the human body as a natural symbol, or as a classification system which is common to all human beings and which is used to express ideas about the social order
• beliefs reveal what a society thinks is SACRED or PROFANE (Durkheim) or PURE or IMPURE
• beliefs and rituals play a part in upholding these distinctions
• DIRT: matter out-of-place (contaminating and therefore dangerous- LIMINAL)
• Dirt is uncivilized (barbaric)
• The meanings of PHYSICAL BODY and THE SOCIAL BODY reinforce each other
• "...the social body constrains the way in which the physical body is perceived. The physical experience of the body is always modified by the social categories through which it is known, sustains a particular view of society.There is a continual exchange of meanings between the two forms of bodily experience so that each reinforces the categories of the other. As a result of this interaction, the body is a highly restricted medium of expression. The forms that it adopts in movement and repose, express social pressures in manifold ways...all the cultural categories in which it is perceived must correlate closely with the categories in which society is seen in so far as these draw upon the same culturally processed idea of the body" (Douglas)

• Dirt and Dirty Work
• the body is a natural symbol which cultures use to make distinctions between what is pure or dirty
• ORIFICES
• potent because they are portals for body products. make private public and are DISRUPTIVE, because they then need to be managed
• BODILY SUBSTANCES
• DIRT: they have designat6ed places where they can be expelled, and techniques for expolsion
• these are generally hidden from public view
• when such products leave the body they are considered out-of-place and therefore DIRTY
• TABOOS
• Beliefs and rules which society construct to make sure that dirt stays in its rightful place.
• way of maintaining the social order
• DIRTY PROFESSIONS: this dirty work renders practitioners morally and socially tainted to some extent. Often the "nurses" in these professions are in charge of the actual bodily pollution. The taint is based on the fact that what is PRIVATE, should remain PRIVATE. When the invisible is made public, it is made visible (dirt)
• proctology
• gynocology
• urology
• home health care/nursing

• DIRTY PLACES
• trash dumps, morgues, sewage facilities 
• become a marker of class distinction depending on your proximity

DIRT IS THEREFORE A RELATIVE CONCEPT SINCE ALL SUBSTANCES ARE POTENTIALLY POLLUTING

CLEANLINESS AND GERMS

• Contemporary ideas about disease are largely based on the cleanliness of the body and the significance of bodily boundaries
• HYGIENE: is principally defined as the correct maintenance of a germ free environment
• the GERM is invisible to the naked eye and is potentially everywhere (HIDDEN)
• ubiquitous
• anxiety producing

• PERSONAL CLEANLINESS becomes the focus for both health (germ free) and moral purity
• clean body=clean mind
• PRODUCTS: plethora to eradicate every color, odor or other indication of a potential germ (bacteria, virus, decay, dirt)
• social concealment of SMELL

• GERM=INVASION (Military Metaphors) Susan Sontag
• cross over from one place to another
• do not belong
• invade from other places where they are not civilized
• language and metaphor frame this (Plague,epidemic,etc.)
• HIV/AIDS
• gay
• promiscuous
• iv drug users
• prostitutes
• Tuberculosis
• homeless
• drug addicts
• poverty
• Leprocy
• moral transgression
• poverty
• Cancer
• risky behavior (smoking, sun, fat consumption)
• emotionally witheld
• other bad behaviors in LIFESTYLE

• lead to stigmatization of individuals with certain diseases and moral judgement about their character as social actors (LIFESTYLE INFRACTIONS)
• deserve what they get
• are a threat to the larger community
• justify discrimination
• immigration restrictions
• quarentine
• job/housing/occupation discrimination
• decontamination practices
• etc.

"A polluting person is always wrong. He has developed some wrong condition or has simply crossed some line which should not have been crossed and this displacement unleashes danger for someone." (Douglas)

• Pollution beliefs associated with sexual activity and the exchange of body fluids uphold a particular version of the moral order
• homosexuality is POLLUTING
• SYMBOLIC CONTAMINATION
• bodies of gay men are contaminating

BODY TABOOS

Body orifices are sites of danger because they are places where things can cross in BOTH DIRECTIONS between the private and public sphere.

• blood
• feces
• urine
• saliva
• mucus
• pus
• semen

disrupt bodily order, so the way in which they are dealt with tells us a lot about the way that SOCIETY is ORDERED.

• Douglas:
• important to maintain boundaries between what is clean/dirty, pure/contaminated
• have well-defined social place and space in which to deal with things like body orifices
• substances that leave the body represent the movement from the NATURAL WORLD to the SOCIAL WORLD (and vsia-versa)
• this reinforces the significance of MARGINS of the body

• MENSTRUATION TABOOS
•  many cultures have menstrual taboos because blood, in particular menstrual blood is liminal and carries strong meaning.
• failure of conception
• bleeding without cause/dying (supernatural???)
• periodic rhythm of the body

• Tribal Religions

• Menstrual huts and other taboos were common among tribal cultures. 
• The Huaulu of Indonesia, for instance, have a menstrual hut on the edge of village. While Huaulu women must live in these huts during menstruation, they are not confined to them – they can wander through the forest, if they stay away from hunting trails. However, they must refrain from eating game, and they must bathe at special fountains forbidden to men. These rituals are performed to spare the men from harm (Hoskins, 2002).

• The Dogon (a group of people living in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region) believe that women must stay in a special hut during the course of their menstrual period. During menstruation, Dogon women get no relief from their usual agricultural labor and spend most of their days working in the fields. However, village streets and family compounds are off-limits. Furthermore, sexual intercourse and cooking for a husband are strictly forbidden (Strassmann, 1996).

• In the cultures of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea (i.e., the Hagen, Duna, and Pangia areas), menstrual huts were once the norm. However, these groups have now abolished the practice of using these huts, along with other ritual practices (Stewart & Strathern, 2002).

• The Enga, Kaulong, and Sengseng cultures of New Guinea believe that sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman will drain and weaken a man (Montgomery, 1974).

• Judaism

• The Jewish code of law, Halakha, details strict rules governing every aspect of the daily lives of Jews, including their sexual lives. Jewish law expressly forbids literally any physical contact between males and females during the days of menstruation and for a week thereafter (Eider, 1999; Keshet-Orr, 2003). 
• This includes passing objects between each other, sharing a bed (most couples have two separate beds, which can be pulled apart during Niddah), sitting together on the same cushion of a couch, eating directly from the wife's leftovers, smelling her perfume, gazing upon her clothing (whether or not it has been worn), or listening to her sing (Steinberg, 1997). 
• According to stipulated ritual, an Orthodox Jewish wife is responsible for immersing in the Mikvah, the ritual bath, following these 2 weeks. This entire period of time, from the beginning of the “bleeding days”, until the end of the 7 “clean days”, when the woman immerses herself in the ritual bath, is called the “Niddah (ritually unclean) period” (Guterman, 2006).

• The reason behind these “Laws of Family Purity” is that menstrual blood (defined as the uterine lining) is considered ritually unclean. The source for this law is Leviticus 18:19, which reads, “You shall not approach a woman in her time of unclean separation, to uncover her nakedness.” Chapter 18 of Leviticus discusses all of the different types of forbidden relationships, such as bestiality and incest. All of the verses explicitly state that one may not have intercourse with the forbidden. The fact that the nineteenth verse mentions “approach”, as opposed to actually having intercourse, is the reasoning behind these menstrual laws (Eider, 1999).

• Although the laws of family purity are only required with one's own wife, any form of physical contact with pleasurable intent (including holding hands, hugging, and kissing) is prohibited with any menstrual woman who has not yet immersed in the Mikvah (Eider, 1999). 
• Since brides will immerse in the Mikvah for the first time before their weddings, all unmarried women are presumed to be in a state of Niddah (Eider, 1999). Therefore, every woman who has had her first period is not allowed to be touched, according to Jewish law. 
• Additional restrictions are put on the married woman while she is a Niddah. These taboos include playing games and sports together (e.g., ping-pong, tennis), directly handing or receiving objects (they must be placed down onto a surface, and then may be picked up by the spouse), and eating together from the same plate (Eider, 1999).

• Physical danger and disgust were used as mechanisms to keep compliance to these laws among the Jews in the Middle Ages (Steinberg, 1997). When a woman was menstruating, she was seen as a physical and spiritual danger to all men. Nahmanides states that her breath is harmful, and her gaze is detrimental. A woman was instructed not to walk between two men, because, if she did so at the end of her period, she would cause strife between them, and if she passed between them at the beginning of her period, she would cause one of them to die. This shows that the “danger” of the menstrual woman is not simply the blood, but even the atmosphere around her. Additionally, a woman is instructed to be careful when cutting her toenails during her menses, for fear that her toenail clippings would spread infection to anyone who stepped on them (Steinberg, 1997).

• Christianity

• The history of the menstrual taboo has been a major reason in the decision to keep women from positions of authority in Christianity (Phipps, 1980; Ruether, 1990). Additionally, there are some Christian denominations, including many authorities of the Orthodox Church, who will not allow women to receive communion during their menstrual period (Barnes, n.d.; Phipps, 1980). 
• Menstruation taboos are also responsible for the belief of many Catholics that a woman should not have intercourse during her monthly period (Phipps, 1980). Catholic canon law refuses to allow women or girls to be in any semi-sacerdotal roles, such as altar server (Ruether, 1990).

• Russian Orthodox Christians believe in menstrual taboos as well. Menstruating women must live secluded in a little hut during this time. They do not attend church services, cannot have any contact with men, and may not touch raw or fresh food. Menstruating women are also thought to offend and repel fish and game. The air surrounding menstruating women is believed to be especially polluting to young hunters; if a hunter gets close enough to a women to touch, then all animals will be able to see him and he won't be able to hunt them. A menstruating woman's gaze is even thought to affect the weather negatively (Morrow, 2002).

• Islam

• In Muslim cultures, “impure” (i.e., menstruating) women are to be avoided by men (Whelan, 1975). These laws are derived from the Qur'an (2:222), which reads, “They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say it is an illness so let women alone at such times and go not into them til they are cleansed. And when they have purified themselves, then go unto them as Allah hath enjoined upon you.”

• Islam does not consider a menstruating woman to possess any kind of “contagious uncleanness” (Azeem, 1995). The Islamic law treats menstruation as impure for religious functions only (Engineer, 1987).

• There are two main prohibitions placed upon the menstruating woman. First, she may not enter any shrine or mosque (Engineer, 1987; Fischer, 1978). In fact, she may not pray or fast during Ramadan while she is menstruating (Engineer, 1987). She may not touch the Qur'anic codex or even recite its contents (Fischer, 1978; Maghen, 1999; Whelan, 1975). Secondly, she is not allowed to have sexual intercourse for seven full days (beginning when the bleeding starts). She is “exempted” from rituals such as daily prayers and fasting, although she is not given the option of performing these rituals, even if she wants to (Azeem, 1995).

• In addition, the woman must complete a “ritual washing” before she becomes “clean” again (Fischer, 1978; Whelan, 1975). Following this washing she is able to perform prayers, fasting, and allowed to enter the mosque.

• Following a lengthy discussion of the Islamic laws of purity, Maghen (1999) concludes that “the ‘problem' with menstruating women (reflected in the restrictions placed upon certain of their activities) is confined to the ritually threatening properties of their menstrual blood per se” (p. 381).

• Hinduism

• Hinduism views the menstruating woman as “impure” (Chawla, 1992), or “polluted” (Apffel-Marglin, 1994). In fact, menstruation is referred to in some places as a “curse” (Sharma, Vaid, & Manhas, 2006). The impurity lasts only during the menses, and ends immediately thereafter. During their menstruation, women must leave the main house, and live in a small hut outside the village (Apffel-Marglin, 1994; Phipps, 1980). They must rest, and do no work; they cannot comb their hair or bathe (Apffel-Marglin, 1994). They are not allowed to partake in the Naulas, or traditional water springs. 
• In other words, menstruating women do not have access to water when they need it for personal hygiene. They are not allowed to cook food (Joshi & Fawcett, 2001), and must keep separate utensils (Sharma, et. al., 2006). Women may not enter the pooja room (the prayer room within each home) and may not enter the temple (Chawla, 1992; Ferro-Luzzi, 1980; Phipps, 1980; Sharma, et. al., 2006). Women may not mount a horse, ox, or elephant, nor may they drive a vehicle (Whelan, 1975). Ferro-Luzzi (1980) also found various food restrictions during menstruation, including fish and meat. In particular, menstruation is to be a private event. There is a strong taboo against menstruation being made known in a public sphere (Apffel-Marglin, 1994).

• Buddhism

• In Buddhism, menstruation is generally viewed as “a natural physical excretion that women have to go through on a monthly basis, nothing more or less” (Buddha Dharma Education Association, 2004). However, Hindu belief and practice has carried over into some categories of Buddhist culture.

• In Taiwan, Buddhists characterized menstruating women as polluted, and restricted them with taboos. Women were taught that their menstrual periods were a dangerous vulnerability (Furth & Shu-Yueh, 1992). Menstrual blood, itself, was viewed as “dirt” or “poison” (Furth & Shu-Yueh, 1992). Japanese Buddhism, in particular, has been characterized by a persistent anti-feministic attitude (Jnanavira, 2006).

• Buddhist scriptures state that all human bodies, male and female alike, are flawed and are leaking filthy substances. While authentic Buddhist sutras do not explicitly say the female body is polluted, many still discriminate against women because of their menstruation. Some common taboos include women being banned from participating in folk rituals, and that they must avoid temples (Furth & Shu-Yueh, 1992). Menstruating women cannot meditate (though some women do, as they feel particularly “connected”), nor can they have contact with priests (Furth & Shu-Yueh, 1992). They cannot take part in ceremonies, such as weddings, either (Furth & Shu-Yueh, 1992).

• During menstruation, women are thought to lose Qi. (Qi, also commonly spelled chi, is believed to be part of everything that exists, as in “life force”, or “spiritual energy”.) There is also a Buddhist belief that ghosts eat blood; a menstruating woman, then, is thought to attract ghosts, and is therefore a threat to herself and others (Lhamo, 2003).

• Women supposedly stop menstruating when they enter the first level of arhatship (“stream-enterer”). (An arhat is “one who is worthy”, the perfected person who attains nirvana through his or her own efforts.) It is believed that they prove their ability to control their bodies and eradicate the greatest barrier to enlightenment (Lhamo, 2003).

Similarities among Religions

• The similarities among the major religions regarding their beliefs about menstruation are striking. Even though Christianity and Islam were influenced by Judaism, Buddhism was influenced by Hinduism, and primitive religions influenced more contemporary ones, it is nonetheless surprising to see that similar taboos exist across religions and cultures. 
• Some of the more consistent themes include: 
• isolation, 
• exclusion from religious services, and 
• restraint from sexual intercourse.

• The concept of ‘menstrual huts' can be observed across most tribal religions. Many of the so-called ‘modern' religions still prohibit menstruating women from entering temples for prayer. Menstruating women may already feel isolated from other people due to their “impure” status. During this time of isolation, many would want to turn to their religion. Without being able to enter temples (or even to pray privately, in some religions), women may feel even more isolated.

• A second consistent theme across religions is the idea of impurity. Every major religion views the menstruating woman as impure, despite the fact that there is nothing inherently impure about the process. Some religions view the impurity as strictly spiritual; others fear physical danger and harm as well.

• A third major theme that is found, consistently, across religions and cultures is the notion that during the menstrual period, there must be restraint from sexual intercourse.

• Finally, it is interesting to note that a number of religions also believe that a woman who ends her menstruation must immerse herself in a ritual bath before resuming her status as “pure”.

In secular Western culture, where taboos are not as obvious, do we maintain these through SILENCE???

(Emily Martin): Metaphors of menstruation for women:

• hassle ("THE CURSE!")
• messy
• gross
• dirty

• draw attention away from it at all costs WATCH (9:32 minutes)
• the menstrual etiquette of concealment
• jokes and euphemisms
• red flag
• lady in red
• jam
• the curse

• men unaware that women were menstruating, especially their mothers, friends and sisters and saw it as an excuse to withdraw from sex by their partners
•  (LAWS) women must buy, store & use and dispose of menstrual products without anyone knowing, especially the men with whom they live.
• SHAME

• FEMININE HYGIENE: what's the deal???? And why can't you say vagina? 
• deodorants (conceal and control smells)
• douches and washes (ditto)
•  "hair care" (less an less there. What does this say about the feminine body in our culture
• infantalization?
• appear sanitary/clean
• body on display for "gaze"

Extra credit opportunity: THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, March 21 & 22

• RESISTING TABOO
• for Martin women internalize shame in ways that create tensions between the social requirements to conceal menstruation and the practical difficulties of doing so in environments that are often male dominated like WORK or tightly timetabled like EDUCATION=Not always bad for women, can use them to REBELL
• back regions/out of bounds for men
• "time off"
• organize and socialize in ways that they can scrutinize men
• for Laws, it is because pollution beliefs stem from male disgust and so they conceal menstruation in order to prevent men from having to confront female bodies= ALWAYS BAD FOR WOMEN, controls them.

BODY BOUNDARIES
(Douglas): The body symbolizes society and society symbolizes the body. Care and control over the human body reflects care and concern over the social body.

• stuff: blood, and babies comes out of women's bodies without their control. This creates a "boundary" problem that must be dealt with in society

• Body Fluidity and the Bounded Self
• (Haraway): the development of biotechnology has expanded body boundaries.
• parts of the body can be installed in others or replaced with inorganic parts
• bodies are not just reproductive, but productive
• body parts (organs, uterus, eyes)
• tissues (bone marrow, bone, blood, skin)
• patentable cell lines (Henrietta lacks= immortal cell line for cervical cancer)
• African American woman-was unaware
• used indefinitely for conducting many experiments
• genetic information (sperm, egges)
• pharmaceuticals

• Body boundaries have become FLUID/bodies are now true COMMODITIES
• what does it mean to be an individual?

• Cyborgs dys/topias: the nature of the body?
• Cybersex (video)

MANSCAPING: making the male Body Civilized

Manscaping essentials

• The contemporary stigma of male body hair has become symbolically linked with all forms of unwanted and grotesque nature.
• man against unwanted nature
• boundary breaking hairs of the male body
• subjected to a number of civilizing regimes

• Influences in culture
• spread of "muscle culture"
• influences of youth and youthfulness
• influence of gay culture on hetero men
• pornography (capitalism and the body)
• desire to control the natural (culture controls nature...what men do)

• Like a well manicured lawn, the male body and its hairs have become the site of cultivation-pulling out and cutting back the unwanted weeds to create the desired aesthetic. Like LANDSCAPING, MANSCAPING entails human alteration of the external environment, only that environment is not the lawn or land, but hair
• Male/Female=Culture/Nature (dualism).
• hairy bodies have slipped into the natural side of this equation
• two prominent views of nature
• alluring
• sealed, closed, individually intact
• Barbie & Ken; Have no orifices and are smooth, no nipples, nothing sticking out!
• grotesque
• in order to be alluring, nature must STAY PUT, it MUST BE CONTROLLED-CIVILIZED!
• grotesque nature blurs or obscures symbolic or physical boundaries (liminal) established by humans
• penetrates the world and also lets stuff in (hair) from the skin (interchnage  with its surroundings)-ORGAN OF GROTESQUE INTERCHANGE
• body hairs break borders
• retain odors
• fall out and pollute (anti-hygienic)
• connection to "dirty creatures" (Animal nature)-may disrupt culturally enduring division between human and nonhumans

• Capitalism: To domesticate all dimensions of sexuality (and nature) and sell them
• market regulated obsession with classically styled, purified, individual bodies-look good rather than indulge in wild pleasure. Sex is messy.
• Dr. Oz and "Say no to sharing towels"

• All exaggerated in the face of ecological anxiety!!!! hmmm?