Blog 1
Today we live in a world where individuals feel the overpowering need to express themselves in multiple different facets of life. But one that sticks out more than most would be the ultimate expression of the body as expressed in Joan Brumberg's "Body Projects". You see this in both men and women but one of the biggest issues is with women and how they look and feel about themselves.
The culture that we each share embraces the mindset that we all need the perfect body and the perfect image in order to belong. As far-fetched as it really is, people, particularly females, engage themselves in everyday activities searching for ways to shape their body, their size and even changing body parts to make them feel as if they are truly expressing the real self. But in reality they are not expressing the true shelf, they are expressing what they wish they could be, someone else. Basically stating what I have is not good enough so I will do whatever it takes to get there.
"Fieldworking" defines culture as an invisible web of behaviors, patterns, rules, and rituals of a group of people who have contact with one another and share common languages. The definition clearly exemplifies the culture that the students here at I.U. live within. Yes, we are all different people coming from different backgrounds but you see the same trends, behaviors and patterns on a daily basis. Everyone is trying to be like the next person. I see this in the way they talk, in the way they look physically and what clothes they decide to wear. Our bodies have become projects that are continually changing and revamping.
As we see in the "Body Projects", this cry for self-definition hasn't changed. Self-expression has always been a challenge for most and I feel as if it will continue to be a struggle until people can finally come to terms with who they really are. What clothes you wear and what hairstyle you have doesn't truly define you. What defines you is what you do with your life. You should be defined by how many lives you help change and by what mark you leave in the world.
For me, "Body Projects" proposes a challenge; a challenge to be different from the rest of the culture that we share with others. It's a challenge that we should take to express our selves in a way that is respected and dignified. We need to change the trends and fashions that make us feel as if we could always be better because we only live once and that time is not guaranteed.
