DESIGNING THE IN-DEMAND BODY: BEFORE AND DURING THE PANDEMIC

Abstract

Based on the materials of empirical studies conducted in 2018-2020, it is shown that in the minds of various social groups before the pandemic, the dominant idea was that the ideal body is a young person at the age of 15-25. The aim of individuals seeking to create a body demanded by society, employers, and the immediate environment of the body was one that outwardly corresponds to this age. Health was perceived as a means of providing a more significant goal: to be socially in demand as in youth, regardless of passport age. This determined the practices used to restore the vitality of the body when any disease occurs. The unique situation created in 2020 by the coronavirus has led to the return of age-old ideas about the meaning and value of designing the desired body. It should be, first of all, mentally and physically healthy, regardless of external attractiveness, age, social status, material opportunities for using modern technologies for rejuvenating the body. The main task of each person is to design a body that is maximally protected from the threat of a terrible disease. The presented materials reveal the factors influencing the formation of the needs of various social groups in the construction of the human body: media, fashion, subculture, reference group, the presence of economic and cultural capital. It was revealed that the activity in the formation of the body is determined by the degree of interest of the individual in its change. Gender differences in the formation of the desired body have been investigated. It has been shown that the body in demand is determined not only by external, but also by internal attractiveness, which is manifested in such personality traits as developed mental abilities, benevolence, respect for people, strong will, patience, a sense of duty, responsibility. In a pandemic, they were in demand to overcome the negative changes that began to occur in the mental and physical state of the body. The leading indicator of a healthy body is the stability of a mental system under the pressure of negative information about the danger of illness, the fear of becoming infected in traditional forms of communication with people.