Bodily Modifications Research Articles

한국에서 비인간론의 연구 동향

Nonhumanism is a discourse that critically addresses the symmetrical relationships between humans and nonhumans in the context of the multi-layered crisis faced by Modern Humans in the 21st century. Nonhumanism attributes a decisive role to nonhumans in human evolution, advocates for co-evolution with nonhumans, and further calls for a shift in perspective from human to nonhuman in contemporary discourses. Nonhumanism intersects with contemporary discourses such as affect theory, media-materialism, posthuman discourse, actor-network theory, and new materialism, and it has been steadily influencing the field of humanities and social sciences through the translation and introduction of key texts in Korea. According to the Korean Citation Index (KCI), nonhuman studies, which began in the early 2000s addressing various topics such as climate crisis, gender discrimination, infectious diseases, ecosystem pollution, disability and bodily modification, artificial intelligence, animal rights, and disgut issues, have seen rapid growth since 2015. Nonhumanism primarily consists of research in the humanities and notably represents a trend of interdisciplinary research classified as 'other humanities' of KCI

Body-Related Existential Dilemmas During Gender Transition: Research in the Italian Context

ABSTRACT The scientific literature shows that gender transition is effective in improving the general well-being of transgender people. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the actual role of the body concerning the existential dilemma that holds the person hostage during transition. This study investigates the relationship between the body—here considered in its concrete, experienced, imagined, and intersubjective dimensions—and gender identity. Twenty-five transgender people who live in Italy were interviewed to identify interpretive repertoires and identity positionings. Four main repertoires and positionings emerged: 1) Interpretative repertoires on the body in transition, where an enduring influence of gender binarism and biological determinants were observed; 2) Expectations regarding medically induced modifications of the body ranging from self-confidence to uncertainty; 3) Positionings toward medically induced bodily modifications, ranging from enthusiasm to resignation; and 4) Inter- and Intrapersonal positionings, where the other than self was found to act as a self-confirming resource or as a constant unpredictable and potentially threatening source of disconfirmation. Practitioners need to develop a stronger awareness of the different dimensions, meanings, and discourses surrounding bodily experience to more effectively intervene in their clinical practice with transgender people.

A Study of the Baiga Women's Tradition of Tattoos, Modernization of this Art and Situation of Tattoo Industry in India

The Polynesian term "Ta," which signifies hitting something, or the Tahitian word "tatau," according to some anthropologists, may be the source of the word "tattoo." It is "to mark something." Since before the start of the Christian era (CE), tattooing—a kind of bodily modification—has been ingrained in the cultures of many indigenous tribes worldwide. It is also demonstrated by anthropological evidence of various tattoo designs from various cultures that tattooing originated independently in many parts of the world. For various tribes across the nation, getting tattoos has always been an essential aspect of daily life. Tattoos are considered an essential component of the culture and history of the Baiga tribe's women. With the tribal people of Central India, tattooing, sometimes referred to locally as "Godna," is a common form of body art that has deep cultural significance. In this work, the importance of tattoo culture among the women of the Baiga tribe in central India is discussed and examined. This study aims to provide an overview of the Baiga tribe the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Central India. It also explains the tattooing process, from the development of the indelible ink to the tattoo artist's application of the ink into the skin's dermis layer. At present, this art has been modernized to a great extent and the tattoo industry has become a major identity all over the world. At the same time, it has spread to many states in India as well. There are immense possibilities of development in this field in the future.

Body alteration: On the mental function of body modification and body decoration

Decorating the body as well as (semi-)permanent bodily modifications are a longstanding human practice, together with spending a great amount of time and effort on such body alterations. The present article reviews the mental functions of body-altering behavior. The primary aim is to identify and elucidate the predominant mental function underpinning these body alterations. Following several guidelines for reviews, we synthesized the literature, including several categories of body-altering entities from different eras. We argue that there are two crucial commonalities for individuals engaging in body-altering behavior that comprise the mental functions for doing so: aesthetics and group affiliation (dynamics), including the latter’s subfunctions of supporting individuality, resistance, personal narrative, physical endurance, and sexual motivation. Incorporating the existing literature, we find that aesthetic motivation takes precedence over group affiliation, thereby establishing aesthetics as the primary mental function of body-altering behavior; factors substantiating this conclusion are explored in detail within the article.

“As if Possessed by a Demon”: Subjectivity, Possession, and Undeadness in Metal Gear Solid

Engaging with psychoanalysis and philosophy, this essay maps the collapse of human sovereignty in Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid video game series by pursuing the figure of the liquid hand that moves between characters, undercutting identity and selfhood. A unique theoretical intervention in the discourses of posthumanism and deconstruction, this essay carves out a coenesthetic intervention into the malleability of the human shape and reimagines how Game and Media Studies can equip us to analyze the relationships between self and other, bodily modification, prosthetics, and violence. Playing out the threat of agential uncertainty and destabilizing the safe markers of self and other through which life and bodies define themselves in media, the series establishes a Geschlecht, a genre and community all its own, but one predicated upon the disorganization and defamiliarization of subjectivity.

A New Era of Fetishism: Winterson’s Dys/Utopian Sexbots

The issues concerning the female body and sexuality have long been a priority for feminist scholars and critics. In the last three decades, this field of study has been greatly influenced by current technological implementations, especially regarding the creation and modification of bodies. Although these modifications seem promising from the perspectives of tech-optimists, feminists object to bodily modifications by underlining the fact that technology is designed and developed following the desires of heterosexual masculinity, thereby preserving the dehumanization of women and reinforcing the objectification of their bodies. The growing sextech industry and the recent trend of all-equipped sexbots serving in sexbots brothels demonstrate the adverse consequences of the d/evolution of heteronormative technology. Thus, considering the above discussions within the light of Jeannette Winterson’s Frankissstein: A Love Story (2019) and basing the argument on cyberfeminist critiques of Donna Haraway, in this study, I have aimed to reveal the fact that the use of sexbots will re-establish a new type of fetishism and rape fantasy by normalizing the sexual abuse in a master-slave relationship, rather than creating post-gender worlds.

Angela Carter and the “Sociology of clothes” in The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman

ABSTRACT The richly allusive tapestry of Carter’s fictional costumes – comprising varying fabrics, face-paint, tattoos, and other forms of bodily modifications – invites closer examination of the complex politics that undergird them. This paper examines Carter’s The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman to understand how the novel uses dress not only to foreground gender-coded sartorial practices but also to draw attention to the ways in which it indexes colonial, cultural, and moral politics. The proposed paper thus, aims to analyze how Carter employs dress as a recurrent motif in The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman to examine its role in signaling and shaping socio-cultural identities.

What happens next? Exploring women's transport motility through the story completion method

This paper explores the three elements of motility (access, competence, appropriation) through women's perceptions of travel using the metro rail in Delhi, India. Studies on metro rails are a recent phenomenon in developing countries where this is a relatively new transport mode. The concept of motility to explore gendered use of metro is useful in context of this South Asian city where women's movements (potential and actual) are contingent upon their ability to travel safely.Data was collected using story completion methods. Participants were asked to complete an online semi-structured form that presented five fictional story stems/openings. Data in this paper is based on stories finished by 84 female participants across Delhi with varying demographic profiles. This paper advances qualitative research on women's mobility and transport use by highlighting situation-specific metro access; necessary skills to optimize access; and how women actually use the metro system.Feelings of un/safety related to fear of sexual harassment, getting lost, and risk of contracting diseases in unhygienic conditions results in specific access of the metro to feel safe. Diverse skills to manage the access include: coping (e.g., adapting to delay in services), performative (e.g., mannerisms to feel safe from threat of violence), spatial (e.g., location of coach), cultural (e.g., awareness of norms), and sanitary skills (e.g., bodily modifications to feel safe from unhygienic conditions). Based on travel priorities and past mobility experiences (personal/shared), the skills and access shape how women travel and what they decide to do to travel safely.This paper advocates for gender inclusive guidelines and collecting disaggregate data in transport, especially for newer metro systems being planned or constructed. It presents an opportunity to consider the barriers to women's potential mobility; how/where transport systems can play a part; and the use of qualitative research methods to appreciate the diversity of women's travel experiences across different segments of their journeys.

Bodily modifications as a cultural and historical phenomenon of self-harming behavior

Bodily modifications as a cultural and historical phenomenon of self-harming behavior

“Human – Social Robot” Interaction: Through Overcoming Barriers to Hybrid Communication

Introduction. The article analyzes the problems that arise during communication between a person and a social robot. Barriers that prevent a person from adapting to the specifics of communication tools embedded in the software of devices with artificial intelligence are revealed. Human reactions to the behavior of humanoid robots in various conditions of their use are analyzed. The presence of a person's desire to adapt to the behavior pattern of the device is checked. The authors also test the hypothesis of the emergence of hybrid communication as a way to overcome the barriers of human communication with smart devices. Methodology and sources.The approach implemented in the article interprets the communication of a person and a social robot as a similar subject-subject interaction of performers of social roles by heterogeneous communication participants who implement a model of mutual adaptation to the reactions of the Other. As the key methods there was used the method of observation, mediated by digital recordings of human communication situations with various types of devices. A nonobtrusive (unobtrusive) research method was applied, which excludes the contact of the researcher with the object of study. The sources were audiovisual documents containing recordings of a demonstration of human communication with a social robot.Results and discussion.A weak orientation of a person to adjust his reactions to actions on the part of a social robot with simultaneous attempts to modify his behavior with a focus on imitation of the robot was revealed. The development of hybrid reactions is affected by an increase in the duration of human communication with the device. To a greater extent, hybrid forms of communication continue to be present in the software embedded in social robots of its communication with a person.Conclusion. In the process of reproducing the stable nature of communication in the peculiarities of the behavior of each of the parties, there were ways of responding to overcome the blockade, not foreseen either by the developers of the algorithms or by a person entering into communication with a robot with the expectation of programmed “machine behavior”. Such a process remains predominantly one-sided and is not supplemented by the activity of the other party – a person, their participation in the synthesis of natural and artificial languages, which is impossible without modification of the language of the person oneself, and their cultural and bodily modifications.

Body image dissatisfaction and interoceptive sensibility significantly predict postpartum depressive symptoms

BackgroundDuring pregnancy women experience rapid and unique changes in body weight, shape and size over a relatively short time period. While research focused on the role of external bodily modifications during pregnancy, research on internal bodily variations is missing. MethodsIn a longitudinal study, we recruited healthy pregnant women and measured whether and how depressive symptoms, body image dissatisfaction and the subjective tendency to focus on one's own internal bodily sensations, i.e., interoceptive sensibility, changed during pregnancy and postpartum. Pregnant women filled online self-report questionnaires during pregnancy (i.e. second and third trimester) and after (i.e. six weeks) the delivery, including the Body Areas Satisfaction Scale, the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. ResultsWhile depressive symptoms remained stable in the peripartum, body image dissatisfaction increased in the postpartum compared to the pregnancy period, and interoceptive sensibility increased over pregnancy. Findings showed that the increase of body dissatisfaction through the peripartum and the levels of interoceptive sensibility in the early phase of pregnancy predicted depressive symptoms in the postpartum. LimitationsInteroception was evaluated as a subjective measure (i.e., interoceptive sensibility). Future studies may include objective measures of interoceptive accuracy and interoceptive awareness. ConclusionsThe current study supports the importance of body image dissatisfaction and interoceptive sensibility in the development of postpartum depressive symptoms. Future studies need to investigate if interventions aimed to increase interoceptive sensibility might be useful in preventing depressive symptoms and identify the mechanisms that can lead to these changes.

Thinking through the s(k)in

ABSTRACT Indonesian male-bodied and feminine identified subjects, locally and internationally known as waria, commonly claim to have the heart and soul of a woman. While waria form a visible social category, they suffer from various prevailing stigmas, of which a significant share is tied to some cultural assumptions embedded in the mainstream understanding of Islamic morality. While most waria do not feel comfortable practising their religion in public, many describe their subjectivity along the distinction between their bodies and their inner sense of gender as God’s will. Consequently, permanent bodily modifications are associated with the notion of sin. These conceptions have enabled a specific form of Indonesian transgender embodiment. This article addresses the bodily negotiations of waria against the background of their religious sensitivities and aspirations for belonging. The spiritually grounded sentiments in relation to their bodies and the sense of gender on one hand, and the signs of increased focus on embodied expression of religiosity among waria on the other, signal the desire for reimagining belonging to Indonesian (Muslim) society. Religious sensitivity, while being the major cause of anxieties on both personal and societal levels, has provided waria with important frameworks which enhance their own relative acceptance of their embodied subjectivity.

Towards a "transitioning": Biographical clues on gender transition, malaise, and health services in Chile.

We analyze how the interactions between the trans population and the Chilean healthcare system shape specific processes of malaise associated with gender transition ("tránsito de género"). Adopting psychoanalytic and transfeminist conceptual approaches, as well as a biographical methodology, we examine autobiographical narratives of three trans subjects. We discuss three topics: childhood as a critical period for gender transition and malaise; the role of institutions; and the ways through which subjects manage malaise. We argue that trans subjects face specific sociocultural conditions that lead to unique processes of malaise associated with gender transition. We show how politicization and the construction of an institutional framework, bodily aesthetical modifications, and the self-administration of medical knowledge emerge as some of the paths to navigate the gender transition process. Besides, we foreground the notion of "transitioning" ("transicionar") by considering the criticism voiced by the participants. By using this notion, they interrogate the rigidity and psychopathologization of identity that is implicitly present in the notion of gender transition, as well as they enrich the transfeminist discourse in favor of their agency/autonomy.

Post-industrial masculinities and gym culture: Graft, craft, and fraternity.

This article theorizes a link between contemporary masculinity in post-industrial spaces and 'hardcore' gym culture. Over the last three decades the health and fitness industry has grown exponentially, with bodily modification and the proliferation of gymnasia, health supplements and wearable fitness trackers now a dominant means by which many construct their identities. Simultaneously, the onset of wholesale neoliberalism, which has caused large-scale de-industrialization and the global outsourcing of labor, has resulted in a macro-economic shift from production to consumption in the West. Set against this backdrop, this article draws upon two ethnographic studies in 'hardcore' gyms to examine the significance of bodywork in the lives of men in two working-class, post-industrial locales in England. First, gym work is conceptualized as a form of both graft and craft within our samples, and the role of the male body as a post-industrial project is considered. Following this, the gym is presented as a site of fraternity which, following the loss of collectivizing industry in both areas, allows men to bond over a shared endeavor and build genuine kinship. Ultimately, we conclude that the gym is a space of production within consumption, furnishing our sample with a means of performing their embodied masculinity and repurposing formative notions of graft, craft, and fraternity in a new adaptive space.

Psychomedical Interventions with Transgender People in Portugal and Brazil: A Critical Approach.

This study aims to analyze biopsychomedical interventions with transgender people. For this purpose, we carried out 35 semi-structured interviews with people who self-identify as transsexuals and transvestites in Brazil and Portugal. The responses of the study participants were systematized according to a thematic analysis, which led to the emergence of the following three main themes: “institutional power”, “expectations of trans-bodies”, and “experiences in health services”. This study demonstrates how some trans people perform bodily modifications to fight the transphobia they experience throughout their lives. In addition, they believe that, by making their bodies conform to each other, they may become more attractive and desirable. The process of cisnormativity is, furthermore, conveyed by the idea present in the answers of some respondents: that having “integrated” bodies means facing less discrimination and that they will, therefore, obtain more satisfactory ways of personally and socially experiencing their identities. This study contributes to a deepening critical reflection on the experiences/exclusions of trans people, especially in the psychomedical context of “normalization” devices. Hence, just as social structures produce and sustain transphobia, the same structures are responsible for combating it.

Bodily Transformations as a Sign of Personal Identity Loss of Heroes of World Literature Works of Second Half of XX — early XXI Centuries

The question of the self-identity crisis of the heroes of literary works at the turn of the century is considered. Particular attention is paid to the bodily transformations of characters as a sign of the loss of personal identity. The relevance of the study is due to the need to fill the existing lacunes in modern literary criticism on the problem of bodily metamorphosis, considered in the designated context. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that previously unexplored works of art by individual writers are analyzed. The authors offer an analysis of the most representative novels of the second half of the 20th — early 21st centuries: “The Last Dream of Reason” by D. Lipskerov, “Second Body” by M. Pavich, “Box Man” and “Alien Face” by Kobo Abe. An analysis of works through the prism of V. Podoroga’s phenomenological theory of corporeality is presented in the paper; special attention is paid to the concepts of “body without skin” and “body outside the norm”. The idea of physicality and identity of J. Baudrillard is also reflected in the work. It is proved that in the novels there are several ways of bodily modifications: moving to another body or object, changes in the functions of internal organs, fusion with an object, which is interpreted by the authors as a sign of the loss and fruitless search for the personal identity of the heroes.

Linguistic analysis of autobiographical narratives in unipolar and bipolar mood disorders in light of multiple code theory

BackgroundDiscriminating bipolar disorder (BD) from unipolar disorder (UD) is crucial in diagnosing mood disorders. Neurophysiological studies have identified different correlates of emotional regulation in BD and UD. According to the Multiple Code Theory, bodily modifications relate to linguistic styles, as highlighted by studies on the language of depression. Our purpose is to verify the existence in the Italian language of linguistic features of depression differentiating BD from UD to provide tools for clinicians to use beyond self-report measures. MethodsThe sample included 20 BD, 20 UD (all diagnosed using DSM-5), and 20 Control Group (CG) participants. Participants completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and an audio-recorded Relationship Anecdotes Paradigm Interview, transcribed and analyzed by the Discourse Attributes Analysis Program for Referential Process Linguistic Measures. ResultsOne-way ANOVAs confirmed that specific linguistic features characterized BD, UD and CG. The use of Sensory-Somatic words was significantly different in the groups: higher in BD, intermediate in UD, and lower in CG. Individuals with BD produced higher scores on the Referential Activity Intensity Index and the use of singular pronoun “I”. Negative Affect, as well as several POMS subscales, distinguished UD and BD from CG. LimitationsNarrow sample size, use of a single self-report instrument and treatment effects on measures in the clinical groups are limitations of the study. ConclusionIndividuals with UD and BD appear to use sensory-somatic language in predictably different patterns from each other and from the non-clinical population. Observation and assessment of linguistic features could improve diagnostic accuracy.

Особенности восприятия женской телесности женщинами, прибегавшими к услугам эстетической хирургии

Objectives. The objectives were to study the specifics of cognitive empathy in women with aesthetic surgery towards women with different types of corporality. Background. Body modification technologies are becoming more common and feasible, creating variety of types of female corporality, which demand scientific research and understanding. In the article, appearance is understood as text, expressing personal values, goals and meanings within the framework of a certain semiotic system. Study design. The study examined specifics of cognitive empathy, influence of body image on the quality of life, level of perfectionism, and hierarchy of values. The presence of intergroup differences was established by means of Mann-Whitney criterion and chi-squared Pearson statistic. Participants. 25 women, who underwent aesthetic surgery (27 ± 4,6 years of age) and 25 women who did not change their appearance surgically (25 ± 4,5 years of age). Measurements. The author’s “Appearance as a Statement” method, questionnaires “The influence of body image on the quality of life” by T.F. Cash, “The Multidimensional Scale of Perfec¬tionism” by P. Hewitt and G. Flett, and “Value Orientations” by O.I. Motkova and T.A. Ogneva. Results. It is shown that women with aesthetic surgeries show significantly lower cognitive empathy towards owners of all types of corporality, except for their own type. On the contrary, women who did not change their appearance surgically show high cognitive empathy towards all variants of unconventional corporality (anorexia, overweight, bodybuilding, extreme bodily modifications), except for the female bodies modified by aesthetic surgery. Conclusions. The differences found in the women’s level of cognitive empathy towards owners of different types of corporality depend on their own corporality type.

Producing marks of distinction: hilaritas and devotion as singular virtues in Spinoza’s aesthetic festival

ABSTRACTSpinoza’s concepts of wonder, the imitation of affects, cheerfulness, and devotion provide the basis for a Spinozist aesthetics. Those concepts from his Ethics, when combined with his account of rituals and festivals in the Theological-Political Treatise and his Political Treatise, reveal an aesthetics of social affects. The repetition of ritualised participatory aesthetic practices over time generates a unique ingenium or way of life for a social group, a singular style which distinguishes them from the general political body. Ritual and the imitation of affects explain why specific styles of art are associated with consistent styles of bodily modifications, clothing, and affects. This paper claims, not that already similar people flock to the same art, but rather, that immersion in the same art is what produces their similarity. Art (especially in the immersive, festival-like experience of live performance) can generate the affect of devotion, which intensifies in-group love, temporarily blocks affects of sadness, and focusses one intently on the aesthetic experience due to devotion’s connection to wonder. Cheerfulness shows that, through variation of aesthetic objects, art can cause pleasure without risking excess. In addition, while politics’ central affect is sad fear, aesthetically-united groups are bound by joyful affects.

Patients Body Modeling: A Practical Theoretical Experience in Plastic Surgery

This research is an active pedagogical experience with surgeons who are specialized in reconstructive plastic surgery and nursing. The guiding questions were the statements of each Surgeon’s clients and what they think about them. Modeling the imaginary bodies of the patients and identify what they built in their minds, highlighting topics and the discussion about the practice made in clay modeling. Eight bodies were modeled, with six bodies with all the senses and two incomplete bodies with only the regions of the breasts and buttocks. It was concluded that there are diverse issues emerging such as gender, ethics, care, spirituality and dream as the fulfillment of the wishes of the patients. Where in the body can these surgeons act to improve the patients’ physical and quality of life? There is an important theme when we are generally welcoming women into an anamnesis that considers their body as a whole, but what is their expectation for each patient? This paper showed the importance of the preoperative evaluation of this whole, for the indication of repairs or contraindications of procedures that aim to improve the physical of the patients, with possible bodily surgical modifications as a form of modeling through liposuction, grafting or excision with lipectomy and withdrawal of excess skin to mitigate the effects of the transformations that deform the physical and end up harming the human relationship, especially women. This is a qualitative method showing the meanings of the bodies of the women represented in the modeling by the Surgeons. However, some surgeons stand out by the look of their practice, as greater sensitivity looking at the body as a whole, spiritual and emotional. They need to use their skills as surgical art and gift, to try to achieve a means, but not an end.