Sociology of the body

1. ANTHONY GIDDENS ● MITCHELL DUNEIER ● RICHARD P.APPELBAUM ● DEBORAH CARR
Fourth Edition
Chapter 14: The Sociology of the Body
Health, Illness, and Sexuality

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“Let’s Move!”
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Important topics
• Social forces and the body
• Theoretical approaches to health and illness
• Alternative medicine
• Health inequalities
• Global health and infectious diseases
• Sexuality and society
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Sociology of the body
• Explores the relationship between society and
the body
• Examines the ways that cultural and social
factors affect health and other conditions of
the body
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Bodies
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Society and eating
• A dual example of a sociological approach to
understanding the body: our relationship with
food.
– Eating disorders
– Obesity
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Anorexia and bulimia
• 90% of those with eating disorders are women
• 95% are between the ages of 12 and 26
• 20% of anorexics will die from anorexia
• Our diet culture:
– 25% of men and 45% of women are dieting
– 60% of girls age 13 diet
– Over 80% of girls age 18 diet
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BMI
BMI = 703 x ____weight ___
height x height
_____________________________________
Note: Weight in pounds, and height in inches.
Category BMI Range
Underweight < 18.5
Normal weight 18.5–24.9
Overweight 25.0–29.9
Obese I 30.0–34.9
Obese II 35.0–39.9
Obese III (Morbidly Obesity) 40.0 +
__________________________________________________
Source: National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute 1998.
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Obesity epidemic in the U.S.
• 1990: 0 states > 15% obese
• 2010: 36 states > 25% obese
• We live in an “obesogenic” social
environment
• Poverty also contributes to obesity
• Despite the fact that over 60 percent of adults
are overweight, there remains a powerful
stigma attached to obesity.
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Socialization of nature
• Processes that were once natural, or biological,
are now influenced by social forces and social
decisions.
• Norms and culture can lead to unhealthy
behaviors.
• Society, then, is affecting the body.
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Being ill
• A phenomenological or symbolic interactionist
approach to illness: what is the experience of
being sick?
• How are daily patterns, relationships, and
activities disrupted?
• How do we react? How do we cope?
• How do we deal with stigma?
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The sick role
• A functionalist approach looks at how the sick
person tries to minimize any damage her
illness might create.
• The sick role has three basic expectations; they
are:
– Not responsible for the poor health
– Entitled to release from normal duties
– Expected to work to get well
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Alternative medicine
• The norm in Western societies is a
biomedical model of health.
• Increasingly, alternative forms of medicine
are now available.
– Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
– Traditional Chinese medicine
– Osteopathy
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Health inequalities
• Improvements in health and healthcare are
not equally distributed among societies.
• There are inequalities both within and
between countries dealing with:
– Class
– Race
– Gender
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Race and health
• Significant disparities in:
– Life expectancy
– Prevalence of certain illnesses
– Likelihood to seek and/or receive care
• In the U.S. these disparities are most marked
for blacks.
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The spread of diseases
• Infectious diseases are often spread through
travel and high population density.
• Colonialism was a major engine for the spread
of disease.
– New diseases were introduced to populations.
– New farming techniques led to problems.
• Infectious diseases are still a much bigger
problem in the developing world today.
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HIV/AIDS
• Despite significant advances in treatment,
HIV/AIDS remains a global epidemic.
• Major inequalities persist in terms of access to
treatment and diagnosis of new cases.
• The majority of new cases are heterosexuals.
• Almost half are women.
• Over half are in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Map 14.1 The Number of HIV- Positive People
around the World

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Looking AIDS in the Face

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Barriers to success
• Lack of money
• Stigma
• Lack of nutrition
• Lack of medical literacy
• Ongoing motherchild transmission
• Economic impact keeps deepening the spiral.
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Sex and sexuality
• Sex norms vary considerably across cultures.
• There are many possible sexualities (not just
heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual).
• There are great variations in norms of sex
practice as well as sexual attractiveness.
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Sex in Western culture
• Increasingly permissive
• Increasingly egalitarian according to gender
• 1960s era was the shifting point
• Men are happy with the increasingly open
sexuality of women, but also a bit undone or
confused by it.
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Social Influences on Sexual Behavior
Sex in America
Source: Laumann et all.1994.

24. © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Social Influences on Sexual Behavior
SOURCE: Laumann et al. 1994.
Number of Sex
Partners Since Age 18
0
partners
1
partner
2–4
partners
5–10
partners
11–20
partners
21+
partners Median number
of sex partners
since age 18
Total average
Men
Women
GENDER
18 – 24
25 – 29
30 – 39
40 – 49
50 – 59
Never married
Never married
Married
Divorced *
Divorced *
AGE
MARITAL
STATUS
% of the population 0% 25% 50% 75%
% of the population 0% 25% 50% 75%
* Divorced, widowed, or separated
0% 25% 50% 75%
100%
100%
100%
Living alone Living with someone
% of the population
Sex in America

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Social Influences on Sexual Behavior
SOURCE: Laumann et al. 1994.
Number of Sex
Partners Since Age 18
0
partners
1
partner
2–4
partners
5–10
partners
11–20
partners
21+
partners
Some high school
High school graduate
Some college
College graduate
Advanced degree
EDUCATION
No religion
Mainline Protestant
Conservative
Protestant
Catholic
Jewish
Other religion
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Native American
RELIGION
RACE &
ETHNICITY
% of the population 0% 25% 50% 75%
% of the population 0% 25% 50% 75%
0% 25% 50% 75%
100%
100%
100%
% of the population
Median number
of sex partners
since age 18
Sex in America

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Sexual orientation
• Homosexuality was once seen as mental illness.
• The bigger question today: is it social or
biological?
• Most sociologists believe it is a combination
(e.g., Bearman 2007).
• While attitudes have clearly shifted,
homophobia and overt discrimination and
violence remain.
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Gay and lesbian rights
• Is this a civil rights issue?
• What is being sought?
– Anti-discrimination laws
– Marriage rights
– Adoption rights
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Chapter 14: The Sociology of the Body Health,
Illness, and Sexuality

29. © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Clicker Questions
1. Which of the following best describes the field known as “sociology
of the body”?
a. It investigates how and why our bodies are affected by our social
experiences and the norms and values of the groups to which we
belong.
b. It investigates any kind of regular intervention we make into the
functioning of our bodies in order to alter them in specific ways.
c. It investigates anything we use to adorn our bodies, such as glasses,
watches, and jewelry.
d. It investigates the increasing use of such devices as cell phones,
pagers, and hand-held computing devices that make it possible for
people to communicate over large distances.
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Clicker Questions
2. What is the “socialization of nature”?
• a. the process by which we control phenomena regarded as
“natural”
• b. the manipulation of the Earth’s natural resources to obtain
social needs and desires
• c. the public ownership of natural resources
• d. the process whereby we interact with nature and animals
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Clicker Questions
3. According to Talcott Parsons, which of the following is one of
the three expectations distinguishing the “sick role”?
a. The sick person is personally responsible for being sick.
b. The sick person is not entitled to withdrawal from normal
responsibilities.
c. The sick person should work to regain health by exercising and
dieting.
d. The sick person should consult a medical expert and agree to
become a patient.
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Clicker Questions
4. Anorexia and obesity are both conditions of the body, and the
causes reflect
a. social factors more than physical or biological factors.
b. the changing expectations about men’s and women’s roles.
c. the spread of fast-food restaurants over the past forty years.
d. increased globalization and contact among societies with
different standards.
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Clicker Questions
5. According to sociological research findings, sexual orientation
results
a. from biological factors.
b. from social factors.
c. from both biological and social factors.
d. primarily from biological factors and secondarily from social
factors.
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Clicker Questions
6. Which of the following is a part of what Kelly Brownell calls
the “obesogenic environment”?
a. sedentary jobs, which have replaced physical jobs such as
farming
b. restaurants that offer “kids’ meals,” which provide smaller
portions
c. large grocery stores that are popping up in poor neighborhoods
and selling affordable produce
d. sidewalks in suburban areas, which make exercising outdoors
easier
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